Martin Scorsese's After Hours

[Hal2001]

After Hours (1985)

Martin Scorsese and.....comedy? Two words that you don't hear together all that often. However, the man who was finally honored with an Oscar for Best Director after six tries did try his hand at comedy. Perhaps "After Hours" was the reason he never tried it again.

Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) meets Marcy Franklin (Rosanna Arquette) at a coffee shop. After a very short talk, she gives him the telephone number of the place she is currently staying. Paul calls her that very night and gets invited to her apartment. That's the basic setup for what will be the worst night of Paul's life. Coincidences, misunderstandings, and plain old bad luck ensues.

The Internet Movie Database also lists this as a thriller, but in order to really experience any thrills from this movie, you have to get around all the absurdities it has to offer. Unfortunately, it is very hard to do that as almost the entire movie is made up of coincidence after coincidence to the point where it just stops being the least bit believable.

What are the odds that Paul would meet a man in a bar who is dating the girl that he came downtown to meet and also just happened to kill herself? Add on to the fact that he exchanged keys with this man so that he could go to his apartment to get a key to the bar's register and then accidentally gets mistaken for a burglar who has been responsible for a string of thefts in the area lately. These are the kinds of absurdities that we are pelted with throughout most of this film. We are expected to believe that, yes, this all could truly happen. Forget the extremely astronomical odds.

If there were fewer of these amazing coincidences, then maybe it would be believable, but certainly not this amount. The whole story just feels contrived from the get go and never stops feeling like that. There's not so much a story here, but rather an excuse to have as many bad things as possible happen to one person in a single night.

Fortunately, there is no problem with Scorsese's direction. In fact, the direction is actually done really well, earning him Best Director at Cannes. The screenwriter, Joseph Minion, had never written a screenplay before and has not had any notable projects since. According to Roger Ebert's "Great Movie" essay on this film, Minion was a graduate student at Columbia when he wrote this screenplay, receiving an "A" from his teacher. However, the script feels merely like an unpolished exercise that needed to be grounded a bit more in reality instead of being filled with near-impossibilities.

Did I mention that he is accused of the robberies after only being seen twice in the area without having anything on him but his wallet? It gets better. Apparently nobody in the SoHo area of New York City sleeps at night, as a huge mob of people is quickly formed to hunt down the supposed burglar. All of this somehow wraps up (quite literally) with him being encased in a sculpture.

As for the comedy part, there are a couple of moments that are amusing. When the whole mess begins, it is pleasantly amusing in the way the character is suddenly stuck in a tough spot, but then the tough spots just keep coming and coming and don't stop until the film is over. By this point, there isn't really anymore humor as we come to expect more absurd things to happen. The film loses its ability to surprise us anymore.

Griffin Dunne does what he can with the role, reacting as a man might upon experiencing such a bad night on the town, but even he seems to realize that the story has quickly fallen apart. Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, and Catherine O'Hara do a decent job as the women who only serve to make Paul's awful night get even worse. We are even treated to some brief cameos from Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong.

Scorsese said that he made this film as an exercise in style. However, while the style may be good, it also needs a story to hold the style together or else you're going to end up with all look and no substance. Scorsese is without a doubt one of the greatest directors to have ever lived. Unfortunately, this project will just be remembered as "that movie he made somewhere between 'Raging Bull' and 'The Last Temptation of Christ.'" 2.5/4 stars.

[FilmJunkie1114]

It has been stated that this film feels like an exercise, and that is not an inaccurate perception. However, it is a bravura exercise, with some fantastic images that really play out in a highly entertaining fashion. There is much that makes After Hours a fantastic film, but most of the factors that make it stand as terrific aren't on the surface, and therefore cannot be observe from a casual viewing.

The first thing that should be emphasized is the fact that nothing in the film seems feasible. This is true, but this is not a flaw as much as the style of the film; it plays out like a surrealist nightmare, and the fast-paced, kinetic manner in which the movie occurs, along with the random lunacy that occurs to Paul Hackett, makes this apparent. At no time does the film try to suggest this is meant to be taken 100% seriously, and in doing so a lot can be missed.

And what is it that is ignored if this film is taken seriously? Well, for one, it is a terrific showcase for some really odd but fun performances. The female performances in the film in particular stand out, and the classic criticism that Scorsese doesn't have many strong female performances seems challenged with this film (and this sentiment also ignores "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", which is criminal). In addition to the acting, the technique in this film is wildly energetic, and outside of Goodfellas might be the most dazzling display of how fantastic Scorsese's use of the camera is. The breakneck-yet-perfect tracking shots and surreal zooms in the film are a delight, and add a little touch that casual viewers may miss, which is a true shame.

Scorsese doesn't seem ideal for comedy, despite the fact that he did very well in the genre previously in the terrific film "The King of Comedy". Yet this dark comedy shouldn't only be viewed for laughs, but for its masterful technique and craft.

10/10

[Rawlin67]

I love this movie. I agree with a lot of what FilmJunkie said, to me it is an example of precise film-making, with great hints of dark comedy.

8/10

[poguesfan]

One of Scorsese most underrated films, plus how often do you get to see Griffin Dunne in a leading role.

[chinton]

Its a pretty brilliant film.

The screenplay is amazing piece of clockwork that gets wrings out every last drop of pitch black paranoia and akward comedy.

The cast is fantastic with Griffin Dunne perfect in the lead surrounded by a bevy of vibrant and distinct performances and characters.

The directing is fast paced and stylish.

This movie is unrelentingly bleak but the movie much like King of Comedy is ridiculously underrated.

9/10

[Natty]

Awesome film. Really quirky, interesting and also very funny at times:

S&M Guy (giving Paul an intense look): That was rude of you Paul
Paul (nervous): I don't know what came over me
S&M Guy: Lack of discipline.
Paul (even more nervous): Possibly.

That part had me in stitches

8/10

[Le_Big_Mac]

8/10

One of Scorsese's most underrated movies, along with the slightly better King of Comedy.

[Dr.Frankenstein]

After Hours was a neat funny dark work by my favorite films (The King Of Comedy) Director Martin Scorsese. Alot interesting actors pop up in this one thru out (Terri Garr, for one-was gr8) . Yes, terribly underrated film and as I recall at the time was a sleeper too.. unfortunately. ++++ that cool poster for the film with Dunne's head as a clocks wind up knob,looks like Talking Heads David Byrne from the same era.