THE EPIC FILM JOURNAL - DAY TWENTY THREE

FILM NUMBER 27 – After Hours

Coming two years after The King of Comedy, another darkly humorous film by Scorsese, 1985’s After Hours was met with a modest box office and tepid reviews. As the years have gone on Scorsese’s popularity and accolade has been on the increase and After Hours is getting more recognition. An odd film for Scorsese to make and quite unlike anything else I’ve seen from him, you can see his cinematic touches in every scene but the overall tone creates a standalone hybrid that is quite an unique experience.

Our main character, Paul Hackett (played by Griffin Dunne), a word processor working in New York ends up meeting an intriguing women in a café, they talk and Paul finds out that she is staying in her friends studio in Soho. Deciding to make a leap of faith Paul travels to Soho to meet her and in true Out Of Towners fashion ends up losing all his money on the way, a catalyst that begins a crazy night of mystery, murder and mayhem.

Taking place within a whole night our hero has to put up with everything from the train fares going up to a suicide. Our main protagonist Paul is very different from what we normally get, we have no backstory about him and pretty much have to make our own opinions along the way. Normally in these kinds of films where everything goes wrong, the driving force is our empathy and concern for the characters; here we get to see Paul make mistakes and do things that aren’t morally solid, it makes him a gripping and challenging person to watch. The film never tries to put him in a positive light or manipulate us, we see him for everything he is, all his faults and merits. Dunne completely nails the main role and watching him slip into insanity is a harrowing and fascinating journey.

Scorsese seems to know this world well and the constant shots of Paul running with his flailing arms in the eerie twilight of Soho are haunting to watch. The story never moves in the way that you expect it to and moments that could seem frustratingly coincidental are both logical and understandable within this setting. The great thing is that most of these moments don’t keep spiraling out of control; there is no over the top car chase or ridiculous police shoot out, that the film never breaks this unsettling and cold atmosphere. It is a depressing and gritty world that has richness with the bizarre characters that inhabit it. At the end Paul’s life is exactly the same, he ends the film sitting in his office chair exactly how he began the previous day, there is no room for personal growth, just like an episode of Seinfeld.

It’s an unusual film for Scorsese; normally his films take place over a long amount of time and we get to see characters develop in a very natural progression, here the film shows different states of the characters behavior but manages to show it all in a small period of time. The pacing moves so well and makes an evening feel like an eternity for Paul. The film was originally going to be directed by Tim Burton and I think that we are very lucky Scorsese decided to helm this because it’s his sweeping visual style that enhance most of the scenes. The camera work always emphasizes the nature or mood of the characters and constantly aids the dark wet rainy dank atmosphere.

The film also has a brilliant supporting cast, the three possible love interests played by Rosannna Arquette, Teri Garr and Catherine O’Hara are all quirky and unique in their own way; they all have their own level of baggage and problems, they never have much screen time but are able to have a big impact on the main characters actions. Another big surprise was seeing Cheech and Chong in a small role as two robbers targeting building in the area. Also that staple of great 80’s films, Dick Miller is the owner of a eerie diner in the middle of this gritty urban neighborhood that feels as if it’s a remote lonely place in a baron town.

It is really hard to talk about the feeling that this film leaves you with; Scorsese has created this wonderful little bittersweet picture that captures a time and place that is rarely seen. The grim and unfriendly streets of this film are a perfect backdrop to this farcical caper and one that makes you wonder why people keep going back to this “crazy night lost in New York” formula; when Scorsese has so obviously nailed it. Doing a quick bit of research it looks like the film was made in a period of Scorsese’s career when he was trying to become a more commercial name. You can see that the film’s premise is trying to appeal to a wider audience but it is so rewarding to see that the film doesn’t feature a second of what anyone could call selling out.
A bizarre and unexpected journey, small and tight whilst containing a great deal of substance and style.

7 and a half out of 10