sandyg@sail.LABS.TEK.COM (Sandra J. Grossmann) (04/24/91)
AFTER DARK, MY SWEET
A film review by Sandy Grossmann
Copyright 1991 by Sandra J. Grossmann
Cast: Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern
Director: James Foley
Screenplay: Robert Redlin & James Foley, based on Jim Thompson's novel
Synopsis: An unusual and original variation on the ancient theme of the
wanderer. While most films in this genre concentrate on the
changes the drifter causes in the stationery lives around him,
this film also shows the changes in the drifter. A suspenseful
screenplay and great acting make this film worth seeing twice.
Currently available on video.
Just about any book on screenwriting stresses that the first few
pages of a screenplay must establish the main character's personality
and introduce the major conflict. "Few" means 3, 5, or 7, which
translates to 3, 5, or 7 minutes. It's a good thing that Redlin & Foley
ignored such advice.
AFTER DARK, MY SWEET pulls you in bit by bit, always holding back
and making you try to fit the pieces together. Interesting from the
very beginning, it sure as hell doesn't follow a formula.
Ken Collins (Jason Patric) is an ex-boxer. When we first meet him,
we discover that he has escaped from an institution, but it isn't clear
why he was institutionalized. We meet up with him in the Californian
desert, where his voice-over begins the narration that continues
throughout the film. He has a diffident voice: stumbling,
non-energetic, shy, and reserved. Non-Hollywood. His gait is curious,
too; he walks with his shoulders hunched forward, his legs advancing him
toward an unknown opponent in the peculiar, somehow-awkward stance of
the boxer.
He stops in a bar and tries to strike up a conversation with Fay
Anderson (Rachel Ward), who immediately sizes him up as a stupid oaf.
When the bartender attempts to throw him out, Collins' reflexes take
over. He stumbles out into the desert along the highway, where Fay
impulsively picks him up.
She looks at his face and renames him Collie. There they are on a
road in Indio, California. The landscape provides nothing--absolutely
nothing. No reason to stay but too hot and still for people to summon
the energy to leave. Everything that happens just seems to happen all
by itself, and the flat, endless landscape is flattened still further by
a relentless sun.
A friend describes this film as Technicolor noir. Maybe he read
that somewhere, or maybe he made it up himself, but it's a good label.
Certainly the tone is film noir, and the overbearing light in this film
serves the same purpose as the dark, shadowed images of yesteryear.
While regular film noir depends upon particularly malevolent characters
and a pervasive pessimism, AFTER DARK, MY SWEET differs in that the
characters aren't stereotypical or especially stylized. Although the
characters are at once recognizable, they are in some sense archetypes
instead of stereotypes. Also in contrast to film noir is the holdout
for hope that the characters maintain.
I don't want to spoil this for you by telling you too much about
the story or giving away too much about the characters. Let me put it
this way, though: these characters are complex and their relationships
constantly shift. The acting is superb. I'd never even heard of Jason
Patric before, but I know of him now and greatly respect his ability.
Rachel Ward is grand. Bruce Dern is perfect as Uncle Bob, a schemer who
amuses Fay.
Hats off to the writers of this play for creating such complete
characters and events that just start happening. In contrast to many
screenplays, the characters' reactions to events and opportunities
actually drive the story. Put another way, the plot doesn't drive the
characters--the characters drive the plot. Rare is the screenplay that
allows this to happen.
Why this didn't get more attention is beyond me. It's well-worth
seeing, and Patric's performance makes this a film worth buying. Rent
it, though, and tell me what *you* think. And tell me what the heck the
title has to do with the film, OK? I never did get it...
Sandra J. Grossmann sandyg@sail.labs.tek.com