Cinematic Point Of View

Anyone who loves movies, has at least one or two favorites that rise above all explanation and reason. Films that maybe other people haven’t heard of or didn’t like, yet for you…they are more. The 1990 James Foley film “After Dark, My Sweet” is one of those films for me. It’s easily one of my favorite films of all time.

I remember seeing it by myself in the theater at a late night screening in Houston. Cineplex Odeon downtown. Maybe 3 people in the entire enourmous theater. The movie didn’t finish until well after 1 a.m. Walking out of the theater into the quiet, silent night, all alone, felt very much like I was still in the film. It was a surreal experience.

Based on a classic, gritty pulp novel by Jim Thompson, the film tells the story of a homeless, mentally ill ex-boxer named Collie (Jason Patric) who wanders around the California desert from town to town.

He settles in at a dingy small town bar early early in the day and proceeds to spin a tale of trying to find a friend of his named Jack Billingsley. It’s all clearly a lie. The nervous, friendly ramblings of a lost soul.

At the end of the bar sits an attractive, lonely woman named Fay (Rachel Ward), drinking her morning wine. Collie attempts to engage her in conversation. Both her and the bartender humor him until gets wise to their game. The bartender attempts to throw him out but gets punched out instead.

Moments later, Collie is back on the road when a car pulls up next to him. It’s Fay. She offers him a ride and apology.

Fay drives him back to her run down ranch style estate and talks Collie into staying to work as a handyman. She is a widow and an alcoholic. She’s also a master manipulator. Collie is cautious but begins to let his guard down.

Throughout the story we see flashbacks of Collie in a boxing ring. Something bad happened in his past career that is slowly revealed. PTSD. He’s running from pain. Lost in booze, just like Fay. They are attracted to each other through this pain. Here’s someone who needs him. He becomes protective of her.

As Collie starts to settle in, he meets a friend of Fay’s named Uncle Bud (Bruce Dern). Uncle Bud is easy to read. A conniving con man looking to make a score. He tries to talk Collie into a kidnapping scheme he’s been brewing. Can Uncle Bud be trusted? Is Fay in on this?

Things get to be too much and Collie retreats into the desert with a bottle of wine.

He mets another lonely character, Doc Goldman (George Dickerson) in a run down diner. The doctor instantly recognizes someone who needs help and convinces Collie to come stay with him and help out.

I want you to watch this film, so I won’t detail more of the story. It’s slow boil starts that really starts to cook at this point.

This is a world where everyone is out for themselves. Everyone feels a little off and hard to trust. You also feel sympathetic toward all of these people, even the worst of the lot. It’s a magical thing.

Speaking of magic, let’s talk the casting of Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, and Bruce Dern. All three of them perfectly embody their characters. One of my all time favorite casts.

These characters come alive when you look into their eyes. Everyone is trying to get a read on everyone else. The tension. The pain. The passion. The lies. It’s all up there on the screen.

Jason Patric’s character also narrates parts of the film. Tells you what Collie is thinking. How conflicted he is at times. This really helps you get into his head and doesn’t distract from the storytelling at all. There is an rage boiling just under the surface of his friendly, far away look. Like an abused child left to fend for himself in the cold, cruel world.

To me, this is best role of Jason Patric’s career.

Rachel Ward is also at the top of her game. Her character is always playing both sides of the coin. You can never quite get a read on if she is being honest or just saying what you need to hear. She’s seductive and dangerous. You see it in her eyes and in her walk. You’ll fall in love and regret it instantly.

I also really love the otherworldly atmosphere of Maurice Jarre’s haunting and somber soundtrack. It feels like waking up from a bad dream to find you’re still living in a bad dream. The electronic nature of the music also gives it a slightly fantastical touch. I found an upload of the album to YouTube and will embed it here.

Mark Plumber‘s cinematography is also just right on. Beautiful wide shots of the desert. Big blue skies. Lots of great contrast and scope. This is day time noir. Tight shots on tense faces. No long shadows except the ones under the character’s eyes. There is a shot, during a tense scene at Fay’s, where the camera dollies forward through long, billowing curtains blowing in the wind that is just so good.

In the end, this is a film about lost and lonely people trying to find a reason to keep going. A story about redemption and trust. It’s human story set in a broken human world. I highly recommend putting it on, late one night, and let it seduce you into the wee hours of the morning.