From Amazon.com
This well-regarded cult film is a tense Kafka-esque tale concerning what happens to a likable computer guy who is in the wrong place at the wrong time in the city that never sleeps--New York. This is a New York infested with bizarre characters vividly brought to life by a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Griffin Dunne's wonderfully controlled comic performance as Paul Hackett is the glue that holds this increasingly surreal film together. Scorsese utilizes a full array of independent and underground film techniques, including special film speed manipulations, angles, and edits, deftly capturing the strange rhythms of an after-hours New York City. Many will find the jokes clever, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Some, however, will find the film an excruciating series of staged circumstances setting up a sadistically cruel dark nightmare of horrors. And there are a few lines of dialogue so poorly written they remind you how unbelievable the thin story really is. But forgive the film these few lapses--overall it's a wild, surreal ride. The most offbeat character is the beehive-sporting, Monkee-obsessed neurotic played to perfection by Teri Garr. And the moment when Griffin Dunne uses his last quarter to play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" and dances with Verna Bloom while an angry mob searches SoHo for him is an inspired bit of lunacy.
--Christopher J. Jarmick
Review
Paul is trying to get into Marcy's apartment. She tosses her keys down to him. Scorsese gives the audience the shot from the keys' point of view. They hurtle ominously towards Paul. This is a quick but quintessential moment in After Hours, a film that has the feel of a nightmare where nothing goes right and trouble can suddenly occur out of nowhere. Although lots of strange things happen to Paul over the course of his night in SoHo (he's hunted by a vigilante mob, nearly has his head shaved, and gets encased in plaster of paris to name just three), the sequences are directed with a certain amount of reality. Viewers are given the sense that the events in this film, however improbable, are possible. Griffin Dunne does a fine job with the tricky role of Paul. His character, after making the decision to go to Marcy's apartment, is almost totally passive. Events happen to him. While it would be easy to dislike such a put-upon character, Dunne makes the viewer sympathize with Paul because he always tries to extricate himself from the situation he is in without harming anyone else. He is desperate to get away from Teri Garr's beehived waitress, but the way he submits to her requests will gain the goodwill of the audience. Desperate to work on any project after Paramount cancelled The Last Temptation of Christ four days before that film was supposed to go before the camera, Scorsese quickly became attached to After Hours. Because Paul is unable to do what he wants and powerless to change his situation, it is tempting to assume that Scorsese felt a strong affinity for his protagonist. Armed with numerous stylistic touches and a noir sensibility, After Hours is a dark comedy that allowed a fine director to exorcise his career frustrations. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
See all Product Description
(36 customer reviews)
(