TV Reviews : A Sexy Triangle in ‘Victim of Love’

“Victim of Love” (at 9 p.m. Sunday on Channels 2 and 8) is misnomered. It ought to be “Victim of Sex,” which not only would work better for the ratings sweeps but also is more to the point.

Pierce Brosnan portrays the hypotenuse of a triangle as Professor Paul, an Edgar Allan Poe scholar who drops Poe-etic passages at the drop of an eyelid. Playing the angles are JoBeth Williams as therapist Tess and Virginia Madsen as moony Carla.

The creative team--executive producer Steve Tisch, director Jerry London, cinematographer Billy Dickson and writers James Demarais, Alison Rosenfeld Demarais and Tim Kring--has concocted a most clever plot that almost defies solution from the potato vantage point on the couch.

See, Carla confesses her almost-suicidal anguish to Dr. Tess over this guy who won’t marry her because he can’t get over his wife’s death. At the same time, Tess has hots for this deadly romantic guy. Turns out . . . both guys are the same hot-breathed Paul.

Paul claims Carla is crazy and is making up these love stories; Carla counterclaims that Paul is lying and, further, that he really killed his wife. Or maybe Carla killed his wife. Or. . . .

The truth hops back and forth and all around. Tess is in a muddle--until the very last twist.