Filmstruck Friday: After Hours (1985)

I didn't love After Hours when I first saw it. I think I was almost twenty, I didn't really get the tone of the film, and I loved it more for the fact that Scorsese directed it than the content of the film itself.  It's a spiralling nightmare that can make it hard to find the comedy until you are in a position to identify more with the central character, which is why I like it a lot more today.

You see, as much as I hate to say it, I have now had episodes that come close to the feeling I get while watching After Hours. I've had nights that have gone from bad to worse, as I make numerous unwise decisions to stay in the company of an attractive woman who was also a bit . . . whacky. I've had nights when I have lost my money and had a hell of a long journey home ahead of me. And I've had nights when the fun has stopped but I have somehow found myself somewhere, or in the company of someone, that feels quite dangerous. Treading carefully while drunk is always harder than doing so while sober.

But let's get to the film. Griffin Dunne plays Paul, a man who ends up out later than intended after he meets the lovely Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). One thing leads to another and Paul eventually finds himself in the company of an artist (Linda Fiorentino), a lonely and sad bar worker (Teri Garr), and, eventually, another artist (Verna Bloom). That's not to mention his temporary state of poverty, a suicide, a surprisingly helpful barman (John Heard), and a woman who seems to want to help him while simultaneously testing his last nerve at the same time (Catherine O'Hara).

Part of the pleasure of watching After Hours, and why I enjoyed it enough before identifying more with Dunne's character, is seeing this material handled by Scorsese. It has a number of his familiar directorial flourishes, a typically eclectic soundtrack, and benefits from his ability to make some of the darkest moments still seem entertaining. This is a film in which a man finds the corpse of someone who has committed suicide and then has to stick up signs pointing towards the dead body as he leaves the scene, after calling to inform the police.

The script by Joseph Minion helps a lot, bringing in plenty of memorable characters and plot elements that plague our lead more than once. Although the general feeling is one of chaos and madness, the script is very tightly put together, slotting various pieces together expertly and leading to an insane final sequence that serves as a brilliant punchline to the proceedings.

Dunne is wonderful in his role, but he's not left with the whole film on his shoulders. Everyone I have already mentioned above does great work. Many are absolutely right for their roles, but O'Hara and Garr are the real standouts. You also get fun cameos for Will Patton, Cheech Marin, and Tommy Chong.

If, like myself, you last watched After Hours before you recognised exactly how those nights can occur then I encourage you to give it a rewatch. Despite the title, this is not a film just about a late night out. It's about a state of mind.

8/10

I recommend buying this set.
Americans can get it here.

Sci-Fi September: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

If you've already seen Close Encounters Of The Third Kind then you may think that it's not a film worth revisiting every few years. I'd argue that it is. The sound and light show that makes up the final half hour will remind you of how great cinema can be when providing spectacle that comes after a steady build-up. If you haven't already seen it then do yourself a favour and get to it ASAP.

Bashing Steven Spielberg is pretty popular among many film fans nowadays, and has probably been popular for some time. Looking at even some of his best movies, and this is one of them, it's easy to see why people can pick apart his style, his flaws, that schmaltziness that he's so fond of. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind has all of his usual tricks, but it also has such a fantastic ambiguity to the whole thing, and such a big heart, that it's still able to sit astride the sci-fi genre like, well, a giant mothership overlooking many other shining lights.

Richard Dreyfuss, Cary Guffey, and a few other people all find their lives greatly changed when they witness some UFO activity. It is, unbeknownst to them, only a small sample of something that has been happening in a number of different locations. The increased activity seems to be building up to something big, something that the U.S. government needs to keep hidden from most of the public. But many of those who have already observed the extra-terrestrial visitors have an obsessive need to see them again. Where will that need take them? And are the aliens coming in peace?

Yes, you get a lot of times when the camera starts off close to a character and then pulls away as they look somewhere offscreen in amazement. You also get plenty of the lens flares that one day collided together and gave birth to J. J. Abrams. And the cinematography, by Vilmos Zsigmond, often places people in the way of extremely bright lights - either spotlights, UFO lights, or just dazzling sunlight. All of these things are Spielberg 101. There's also a rousing score by John Williams, a cute kid (Guffey) in the middle of the action, and plenty of reverence for cinematic classics of the past.

None of these things take away from how great the movie is. With so many to choose from, saying this score is one of the best from Williams is high praise indeed, and I stand by that compliment (mainly for that brilliant 5-note motif and the audio experience of the grand finale). It's also worth noting that the subject matter lends itself perfectly to all of these Spielbergian tricks.

The performances are pretty perfect from everyone involved. Guffey doesn't say much, but he's a great child actor and reacts well to what's supposed to be happening around him. Dreyfuss is brilliant, making the most of yet another great role handed to him by Spielberg. Whether he's sculpting mashed potatoes or struggling to communicate to his wife (Teri Garr) just what he's going through, his display of conflicting emotions conveys so much more than the majority of the script. Melinda Dillon goes through a similar range, as the mother of Guffey, and her few scenes with Dreyfuss make for some of the best scenes in the film. Well, the best scenes not featuring UFOs. Francois Truffaut moves from his usual directorial role to act as Claude Lacombe, an expert in UFO activity who hopes to soon be able to prove that one or two of his theories are correct. He's a great presence whenever onscreen, quiet, graceful and intelligent, and it's easy to see why Spielberg persuaded him to take on the role. Last, but not least, Bob Balaban rounds out the core group of main players, spending a lot of time alongside Truffaut, playing a translator. He may not have as much to do, but he's a worthy addition to the cast.

If this had been made today then I think it would be a perfect film. There are hints of darkness here and there, but nowhere near the darkness that Spielberg would be able to handle so expertly in the 21st century. The special effects hold up well, for the most part, but it's hard to not see the crudity of some moments, especially in the first half of the film. And there's just too much lens flare. Yet it remains an effective, moving piece of work. It's a cinematic experience unrivalled by 95% of films released in the past three decades, and that's why I still rank it as highly as I do. As do many others.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Kind-Blu-ray/dp/B004HZY8OS/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1409952353&sr=1-2&keywords=close+encounters+of+the+third+kind

April Fools: Dumb & Dumber (1994)

It's a relief to watch Dumb & Dumber today and realise that it holds up pretty well, because the success of the film was a bit of a mixed blessing. It helped Jim Carrey to get to the A-list, and it helped the Farrelly brothers go on to make great films like Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and Stuck On You. Unfortunately, it also plunged Jeff Daniels into a bit of a comedy purgatory for a number of years, and it also led to movies like Say It Isn't So and *shudder* Movie 43.

The slim plot sees Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels) embarking on a trip across the country to return a briefcase to Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly). Unfortunately, the briefcase contains money that was supposed to be delivered to two criminals (played by Mike Starr and Karen Duffy). Mary left it behind deliberately, and is now unaware that Lloyd, who has fallen in love with her, and Harry are determined to travel to Aspen to give it back to her. The criminals ARE aware of the situation, but they need to figure out just what kind of people they're dealing with. Well, as is obvious from the start of the movie, they're idiots.

Lloyd and Harry aren't the most likable movie characters ever to appear onscreen, but viewers will keep rooting for them because they are more like spiteful children than sneaky adults. In fact, thanks to the performances from Carrey and Daniels, that's exactly how they come across. Whether they're chasing an impossible dream, being mean to one another, or being greatly entertained by the simplest of pleasures, these two characters are consistently child-like. Holly somehow manages to stay graceful under pressure whenever she has to share the screen with either of the two leads, Starr and Duffy are fun villains, and Victoria Rowell has a couple of great scenes in the lead up to the finale that manages to be fairly predictable, despite one little surprise thrown in to mix things up a bit. Special mentions should go to Cam Neely, for his portrayal of a mean trucker named Sea Bass, and Harland Williams, playing a traffic cop who appears for one small, but memorable, scene.

Bobby and Peter Farrelly both wrote, with the help of Bennett Yellin, and directed this slice of clever idiocy, and it's really when you see more and more misguided attempts to recapture its essence that you realise just how good it is. The bad taste, the toilet humour, the slapstick moments, everything is put together in just the right way to make for a great final product that entertains everyone but the all-too-easily-offended. The whole thing moves along at a good pace, the soundtrack is full of lively and enjoyable tunes, and it's all centred by that great pairing of Carrey and Daniels, two stooges who argue and fight together as people can do only when they really care for one another.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dumb-Dumber-Blu-ray-US-Import/dp/B001IKKMD6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1396678187&sr=8-4&keywords=dumb+and+dumber