After Hours
Although widely considered one of the “lesser” Scorsese movies due to its low budget and independent roots, this is actually a quite good and masterfully shot descent into the darkness that is NYC’s Soho district. The main drawbacks start with the Griffin Dunne character though: He is so obviously an unlikable weasel that the viewer loses all empathy for him early on (particularly in the way he treats the Rosanna Arquette character), and basically becomes indifferent to how his fate will turn out. Also, while the script is good, there are a few glaring plot holes that expose the story as an excuse to keep his character there (if Dunne had stayed focused during some key points in the story, he would have made it home and the film would be over). The dynamic of having the locals suspect him of robberies doesn’t play out well either, since Dunne has no transportation and couldn’t possibly carry the stolen items himself. Those criticisms aside, the film really picks up steam in the last 30 minutes and sustains itself well to the end, playing like a truly fucked-up urban surrealist nightmare. The supporting cast, even including the bit players, all bring something to the table, with the exception of Teri Garr, whose kooky waitress seems to drag her scenes out and overstay her welcome, but the others are all fine. Rosanna Arquette is an actress I had a boyhood crush on for years, and brings a lot of sex appeal along with a fragile vulnerability to her part; Linda Fiorentino as her roommate is drop dead gorgeous and her indifferent attitude just makes her hotter (and showing her nice tits doesn’t hurt); John Heard puts his stock everyman persona to good use here as the bartender; Catherine O’Hara is actually sexy here even after she turns out to be a psycho; Cheech and Chong are given VERY limited screen time and are not really that funny, but make the best of it; Verna Bloom brings a nice touch of pathos to her role; plus there are good bits by Will Patton, Dick Miller, Victor Argo, and a few others. Overall, there are only 3 or 4 real laugh-out loud moments here, but Scorsese keeps things moving and the first class camerawork and editing keep this from being b-movie fare, successfully building the paranoia and tension of the story to an incredible level. Overall, proof that Marty can take ANY script and make an above-average movie out of it…
8/10