Reviews (47)

A solid, moody thriller
Cat People was of course hit with comparisons to the 1942 original and that, as usual, is unfair. The two have barely a thing in common. Yes, the 80s version has plenty of sex and violence, but so be it, the film has a well-defined look and is certainly moody and atmospheric, which is all we can ask of a horror film so many times. Unlike the original's psychological horror and hammy acting, Schrader is concerned with establishing New Orleans as a bizarre setting for this strange tale of a young woman's sexual awakening and subsequent rampage as a member of the title race. Kinski is perfect in the role as is Heard as Oliver, and McDowell is on hand for his patented creepiness. This film represents a clear vision of the horror only hinted at in the original screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen, and with Scarfioti and Moroder doing the visuals and the music . . .

Sultry, Stylish, and Darkly Erotic
Cat People is one of my favorite horror movies. No, it's not perfect. The script is uneven in parts and it is debatable whether the cheesy dream sequence at the beginning should have been included. But the film creates an atmosphere which draws you in. The casting is brilliant: Natassja Kinski is perfect as Irena, and Malcolm McDowell is perfectly creepy as her brother. The setting of New Orleans, that most sensuous of American cities, is also just right. The film is scary and suspenseful, and has a great soundtrack. Special effects are not used gratuitously, but only when necessary to tell the story. But what really makes this film special is the successful juxtaposition of horror with the erotic. No other American film I can think of does this as well. This is largely due to the presence of Ms. Kinski, who radiates a sexuality which is almost hypnotic. Needless to say, I'm a fan of this film and highly recommend it, despite its flaws.

if it weren't for the exquisite Natassia Kinski...
...I would've given this zero stars.

It felt like a bad 1970s made-for-TV movie: clumsy pacing, cheesy keyboards on the soundtrack, tacky "matte" color photography, high-school-drama-class production standards during the absurd prehistoric Africa scenes... (...)

There's a little sex and some bared breasts I suppose, but far from "Basic Instinct" quality.

This little pussycat doesn't roar, it just kinda sorta meows.

Hungry like the panther
"Cat People" is a dark erotic horror movie made in the early 80s; before horror meant hack and slash blood and guts (not that I am complaining). It centers on Irena (Nastassja Kinski), a young virgin who arives in New Orleans to meet her long lost brother Paul (Malcolm McDowell). One night after an awkward advance toward Irena, Paul goes missing. Meanwhile, the zoo catches a wild panther that mysteriously turns up in the city. Irena goes to the zoo, and immeadiatly feels drawn to the panther. The curator, Oliver (John Heard), falls for Irena and arranges for her to get a job. After the panther kills a zoo employee, it escapes, and then Paul comes back. Eventually this leads Irena to learn that she and Paul are the last of cat people, ancient people that can become an animal only after they have had sex, and can only transform back after they have ate a human. It is sort of a variation on the werewolf myth. Irena must decide if she wants to be a part of the human world, or the animal one. This is a very smart horror movie in a time when they were rapidly becoming mindless. Kinski is a beautiful woman, and she handles herself with grace and sleekness that puts you very much in the mind of a feline. The whole movie depends on her, and you buy her many emotions as genuine through the whole movie. McDowell dose what he dose best, play the heavy; a little more depth from him would have been nice, but I don't hold it against him. John Heard plays hurt and confused well, and it is nice to see him in a role where he isn't a slime ball. The supporting cast is filled out with excellent actors; Ruby Dee and Ed Begley Jr. do just fine in their limited roles. There is also a young and sexy Annette O'Toole, with a twist on the promiscuous female type in horror movies. The brillant director behind the vastly underrated "Cat People" is Paul Schrader, who wrote "Taxi Driver". In a way, Irena reminds me a little bit of Travis Bickle; alone, alianated, and prone to senseless violence. The only part that really didn't feel right in the movie was the flash backs to Ancient Times in the desert. That piece looked too fake, but it is so brief that you can ignore it. New Orleans is beautifly photographed, especially the French Quarter, with all it's hints of secrets and mystery. This is really a well made erotic thriller that mature audiences will like a lot.

That dude from Austin Powers is sweet in this
There's all kinds of people (women) walking around totally naked in this movie. I give it my full support there. But as an added frosting on the cake, the dude who plays Austin Powers' commander or whatever is all crazy and jumps around like a cat. Or maybe it's not the guy from Austin Powers - I don't know. But it is cool when they jump up on things like cats. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Death in Venice
I have watched this movie via home video three times now and find something new to like about it each time. Released in 1991, this movie is based on an early novel of the same title by Ian McEwan so we are fairly sure from the outset that the characters won't all live happily ever after. Set in Venice and beautifully filmed, the movie is directed by Paul Schrader; the screenplay is written by Harold Pinter so we're obviously not dealing with slouches here.

There are only four characters in the movie, all of whom do commendable acting jobs: Rupert Everett, Natasha Richardson, Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren. Everett's good looks sometimes get in the way of his acting-- at least for me-- that does not happen here, however. A lot of appropriate adjectives fit this movie: sinister, scary, shocking, compelling, mysterious, sexually ambiguous, suspenseful. I do not know how much time this movie got in theatres, but it is a very fine movie indeed. It is certainly an artistic success and ought to have had a wide viewing.

This movie reminded me of both DEATH IN VENICE from the Thomas Mann novel and DON'T LOOK NOW. Another beautiful movie filmed in this otherwordly beautiful city about death and dying and/or horror.

Death in Venice
This is an excellent adaptation by Harold Pinter of the McEwan Novel with superb cinematography and an evocation of the eirie atmosphere as well as the incredible beauty of Venice.All four main castmembers put in great performances with Christopher Walken at his dangerous best as the sophisticated yet strangely chilling protagonist.Helen Mirren,Rupert Everett and Natasha Richardson are perfectly cast and give faultless performances.The scenes shot on the Lido are especially interesting and bring back memories of Dirk Bogart in Thomas Manns "Death in Venice",which you will find is a surprisingly appropriate reference even though the subject matter is vastly different. I also enjoyed the scenes shot late at night in which Christopher Walken mysteriously introduces an innocent Rupert Everett to some of the seedier nightclubs of Venice. Beautiful shots of the more well -known parts of Venice abound,with a beautiful soundtrack to highlight them. All this plus a spinechilling ending!

A pity this is out of production .I recommend it to the studio that they put this out on DVD.It could become a cult classic

Highly unusual, experimental narrative, strangely appealing
This is one of those movies where you are left wondering long after its over whether you understood what happened and why it happened. I can't say I have much confidence in my own analysis of this plot and these four characters. I think things are left sketchy on purpose too so you feel as disoriented as the characters in the film do. I have my opinions about who did what and why but since the plot never winds down to any final resolution you are never certain whether you were right or not. This kind of film is disturbing because it deals with things that have no easy rational explanation--like the darker side of the psyche and its relation to desire and death. That said the film is a wonder to look at. My take on the film:Rupert Everett & Natasha Richardson are a confused couple who really don't belong together but don't know it yet. Everett is narcissistic and bored with both his wife and his job and perhaps with life itself. Richardson is drawn to Everetts beauty but so is everyone else. Including Walken and Mirren. Walken and Mirren live in an opulent kind of decadence surrounded by PreRaphaelite paintings depicting sensual languor. When Everett and Richardson sleepover at Walken and Mirrens villa they are photographed to look just like one of the paintings on the villas walls as they sleep with bedsheets barely concealing their nude bodies. Walken and Mirren possess all kinds of art objects and they play rough games with each other. Once they spot Everett they know they must involve him in some way. There is strange chemistry between Everett and Walken as soon as they meet and equally strange but less potent chemistry between Everett and Mirren. It seems both desire him. Walken and Mirren strike Everett and Richardson as more than just a little odd and yet they are also very curious about the older couple who are obviously interestd in them. Walken is rude and even violent to Everett and yet he seems to offer himself to this couple willingly submitting to whatever they have in mind for him. The couple obviously ignites something that had been dormant in him. Richardson is stunning in her own right but Everetts desire for her is really directed more toward Walken and Mirren who interest him far more than Richardson. As much as I like this film there are clues which never lead anywhere like the story Walken tells about his father which both initiates the frienship between the couples and is once again repeated at the close of the story. We are never convinced of Walkens authenticity as an aristocrat so everything he says is suspect including the story of his father which reveals nothing really whether it is true or not. I think this little story within the story is a clue that some stories make very little sense and because they make so little sense they continue to haunt the imagination.

Disturbing, intriguing, hypnotic, mood piece.
I return to this film at regular intervals as I return to other films such as Woody Allen's MANHATTAN. But where Mr Allen's film is as much watchable for its witty dialogue and characterisation , THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS is watchable for quite a number of different reasons. The overall idea of the story I take it to be is of two lovers from the modern world returning to an older and different culture to try and recapture their private past. If this older culture is a metaphor for their private past then their past is a murky, fluid, labrynthine, decaying place of intrigue and mystery which is how Venice is portrayed in the film. I may be misreading the major idea of the film but to my mind the film has a serious moral side to it. Certainly, the two lovers are not innocents. The male is portrayed as selfish, vain, indulgent , and the female as having abandoned her children, albeit temporarily. They are both self-absorbed and shallow people, looking for something. They find some relief in sexual passion. But after they meet two locals, their holiday changes. Having said that, the two lovers are deliriously good to look at. Rupert Everett must be one of the most beautiful men ever to have graced the screen and, dressed in his casual Armani clothes throughout the film, and in the prime of his youth, he is a visual and sensual treat to behold. Natasha Richardson has a wholesome beauty but her hair is a golden glory . Her Armani clothes also bewitch. The two Venetian locals , Christopher Walken, and Helen Mirren, aristocratic, decadent, sexually deviant, provide an interesting double for the visitors. He in his white silk/linen Armani suit, she in her gowns. The acting by this quartet, is pitch perfect. The dialogue by Harold Pinter weird and wonderful: the film begins and ends with a monologue by Mr Walken about his character's father, a vain man who used to touch up his greying moustache with mascara. And the fans of David Lynch and his TWIN PEAKS will be delighted with the eerie music by master Angelo Badalamenti. Camerawork by Mr Spinotti and sets by Mr Quaranta are resplendently rich. Paul Schrader delivers a mis en scene, a suspense, performances that deserve repeated viewings. It may not be a masterpiece but it reveals a great deal about what film making can be in the hands of gifted artists. Compelling viewing. No flat spots. For film lovers everywhere.

Walken at his enigmatic best.
If you have ever wondered why moths fly toward a fire to their untimely death, check out this film. A vacationing couple in Venice become enthralled with an excentric local and his wife. The encounter confirms that the light always seeks the dark and vise versa.
Walken is about the scariest I have ever seen him, and he's always scary.
This film is probably Paul Schrader's most compelling directorial outing. ... Read more

Description

An acclaimed and auspicious biography of an infamous and brilliant Japanese author who performed ritual seppuku in 1970. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

A biopic that is even more impressive than its subject
Most biographical films of artists (Immortal Beloved, Amadeus, etc.), even if they are well made, hardly live up to the greatness of the people they describe. This film is a notable exception, one which outdoes its subject. Mishima was an accomplished writer, one whose works deserve to be read, but no single work of his stands out as an unquestionable masterpiece of world literature. This film, on the other hand, is without doubt one of the masterpieces of world cinema.

The film is broken down into interlocking "modules": those which depict Mishima's life and those which recreate episodes from his books. The literary recreations are done in a highly stylized manner which captures (and at times, outdoes) the mystery and poetry of the original texts. The biographical segments feature a fine sense of both drama and poetry. They capture the essence of Mishima's passion in a way that even he himself was unable to do.

The score by Philip Glass is one of the finest film scores ever written, and it turns the film almost into a kind of opera. It is far superior to any of his other compositions.

I was born a few years after Mishima committed suicide, but I am friends with two people who knew him personally, both of whom have excellent taste in both film and literature: they both recommend this film highly. The film may take some factual liberties, but it represents the fundamental nature of the man with infallible accuracy.

Whether your interest is great cinema, great literature, Japan, or Mishima himself, do yourself a favor: see this film.

Great Movie--Lackluster Transfer!
In both the running commentary and in the DVD production notes, it is revealed that the participants involved with "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" felt they were producing a film "no one would see." How odd that a film that felt it had no audience, turned out to be an exceptional and popular film about a writer's life and work.

What sets Mishima apart from others in this genre, is that Paul Shrader focused solely on the themes that appear in both Mishima's personal life and within his writings. This is not a tell-all exploration of a known celebrity, rather it is an in-depth analysis of a man's core beliefs that motivated both his direction in life and his writings. Broken into three distinct styles, the film covers Mishima's past (black and white), present (documentary color) and novels (stylized color), resulting in a concise, deep, and through exploration that neither hails or condemns its subject.

All aspects of the film production are exceptional. From the spot on performances of Ken Ogata (it is eerie how he physically captures the essence of Mishima) and the supporting cast, to the incredible & luxurious sets of Eiko Ishioka, and the atmospheric music of Philip Glass. There is much to admire within this film and if you haven't seen it, you should.

Warner has previously released this film on VHS and Laserdisc and now presents it on DVD. Surprisingly, this film with no audience, has a lot of amenities to make it a worthwhile purchase. Paul Schrader, the film's director, provides a thorough and insightful running commentary, further illuminating Yukio Mishima's life as well as chronicling the production. Additionally, the Japanese audio track features the original narration that was done by Ken Ogata. (When first released in Japan, his narration was replaced.) As for the picture, the transfer leaves a lot to be desired, appearing to be a rehash of the original laserdisc transfer. It's a shame that such a visually potent film lacks a proper transfer to DVD.

[On a odd note, in the original release Roy Scheider provided the narration to this film. However, despite a listing on the end credits, it appears that the narrator on this DVD is NOT Roy Scheider. I did an A/B comparison with the laserdisc and there is a distinct difference from the Laserdisc to the DVD. If anyone has any information on this oddity, I would be interested to hear from you.]

Fantastic
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Directed by Paul Schrader. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Made in 1985. Cost $4.5million to make, filmed entirely in Japanese with all Japanese actors, never released in Japan. Grossed $500,000. Beautiful film that tells three separate stories. One is a black and white re-telling of Mishima's life. Another is a color re-telling of Mishima's last day. And the third consists of three re-tellings of Mishima's novels. The novel re-tellings are shot like very elaborate stage plays in lavish colors and designed by Eiko Ishioka, who designed costumes for Dracula, The Cell, and the new Houston Rockets jersey.

Long story short, I bought this film sight unseen and I cannot stop thinking about it. The music haunts me (in a pleasant way), and the images and the ideas of Mishima have been playing in my mind. I had read two novels of Mishima's, so I was familiar with him and his work.

Here is a man, arguably the greatest postwar author Japan has had, who wrote 35 novels, over a dozen plays, several operas, a ballet, over 400 short stories and essays, directed and starred in a movie he wrote, and starred in a few more. And in 1970, at the age of 45, after creating his own army, committed suicide after a vein attempt to incite revolution in the Army. Oh, he was also a body builder.

Just like the deafness in Beethoven, it is the army building and suicide that everybody obsesses about when they study Mishima. It is true for the last decade of his life he tipped to the right in political views to the point of fervent fanaticism, but he still managed to balance his passion with his desire for beauty and existence. In the end he hoped to unify it all in one swift moment that is death.

Known to go out on the town or host cocktail parties with the who's who of Tokyo and the literary world of the 50's and 60's, Mishima never drank and rarely took to debauchery that personifies the tragic novelist. Instead he possessed a phenomenal work ethic. At 11:00pm, whether on the town, or the host of a party, people knew it was time for Mishima to head home, or for the party end. He had work to do.

Even while cramming for exams as a teenager, Mishima would stay up until dawn writing. His one passion at that age. And for the last twenty years of his life, at midnight, he would go to his study and write. No distractions, silence would guide his thoughts.

Most of this I got from reading a biography I just read of him, but the film touches upon it very nicely. And it is the quotes about his personal development that make some of the best lines from the film (in an optional English narration on the DVD.)

"Every night at precisely midnight I would return to my desk and write. I would analyze why I was attracted to a particular theme. I would boil it into abstraction until I was ready to put it down on the page." I think I just miss quoted (as I will again later), but I got it close enough. Even on the last night of his life he followed this work ethic. In his entire writing career, he never missed a deadline.

He was a weak kid. Pale, young looking for his age. Sheltered by his grandmother. His one release was writing. In a scene that was objected to by his widow, the film shows him at a gay bar. He is criticized by a man for being "flabby". This scene and the implied homosexuality resulted in his widow preventing the release if the film in Japan.

The following scene concludes with Mishima thinking: "All my life I had suffered under a monstrous sensitivity." And that, "What I lacked was a healthy body; a sense of self."

"I saw that beauty and ethics are one in the same. Creating a beautiful work of art and being beautiful oneself are inseparable"

Mishima took up body building in the mid 1950's and kept it up until the end of his life. Unlike the average tale of the forlorn, drunk, self-hating author, Mishima was obsessed with health and the prevention of the decay of the body.

The reputation of famous authors of Japan are that of chain smokers who drink and write. It is this lifestyle that gives them their writing will. I have found two Japanese authors who buck this trend. One is Mishima and the other is Murakami Haruki, who is in his fifties right now and is possibly the most popular author in contemporary Japan. He too follows a strict ethic of exercise and writing.

I will point out some other aspects of the film I find interesting. Apparently Lucas and Coppola were miffed that Yoko, Mishima's widow, would only allow scenes that were documented as happening. Seems fair to me when making a biopic. All quotes in the movie spoken by Mishima are actual words Mishima wrote.

Though one issue I do have is that Ogata Ken, the actor who plays Mishima, doesn't really look like him. Mishima was just more handsome. His face was tough, but the eyes were the eyes of a poet. And he was more muscular for the last 15 years of his life. But considering the controversial nature of Mishima and his reputation, it was hard to find an actor as willing as Ogata, so I should not be so upset.

Plus Paul Schrader made a comentary track for the DVD release that is full of good tidbits.

Beautiful things they are my enemies
Perhaps Paul Schraeder should have kept Mishima's words in mind when he wrote and directed this disaster of an art movie.

The central concept of the movie is an abomination. Imagine telling the life of Shakespeare, or any other writer, by intercuting three of his plays or books into his life-story? Imagine 15 minutes being given each to Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Midsummer Night's Dream. Each of Mishima's books highlighted in the movie is a full work of art in their own right. To shoehorn them into this movie is a travesty. To try to use them to tell Mishima's story is weak storytelling. To hide it in glitsy visuals is even worse. It almost works in the Runaway Horses section, but by that time, we have been bored into submission and any morsel of entertainment is gladly welcome.

I had heard so much about the wonderfully stylised sets but they looked like a school play, with the acting in the Golden Pavillion segment at almost at the same level. Each of the book sections has zero character development and we have very little idea why the characters are motivated. This is compounded by the strange choice to film the book sequences in Japanese -- they could easily have been done in English. Arty talk may sound good, but it is empty of meaning when taken out of context. Shrader seems to mistake art for a good story and Mishima was popular primarily because he was a good storyteller.

Ken Ogata is miscast -- he looks nothing like Mishima whatsover and is too old for the role. The actor who was the lead in the Runaway Horses section looks much more like Mishima. Mishima's character suffers from lack of character development. We see what he does but there is very little explanation of his motivation. The flashbacks skim over his life and give no insight. We never see him interact with anyone in a meaningful way. We never see any challenges he faced. There is a total lack of dramatic tension because his character have not been built up. Shrader says on the commentary that Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and Mishima are similar characters but then he lets us think that Mishima acts the way he does because he is Japanese.

Roy Shneider or not, the narration is a joke. I almost laughed out loud when I heard it. Why is an AMERICAN doing the voiceover? It looks and sounds ridiculous and completely jars with the visuals. When I first started watching I mistakenly had the narration off and was reading the English subtitles -- much better. The tone of the narrator was enough to send anyone to sleep. And the words, even though they are Mishima's, are preposterous in the context of a movie. The whole thing plods along at such a tedious pace, not helped by the score, which like all Philp Glass, sounds pretty but has no tension.

If you like pretty colors then perhaps you can forgive the book sequences, but the use of black and white is misleading as many of the events depicted are close to the last day (for example the parade on the roof of the National Theater). The "documentary style" of the last day looks cheap, forced and is not dynamic enough for the material. The filmmakers can't even make a hostage taking look interesting.

The DVD extras include a "making of" that must be all of five minutes long that adds nothing to our understanding of Mishima or of the movie.

All in all a missed opportunity to understand of one of the most intriguing writers of the 20th century.

A revealing film
It struck me whilst watching Mishima that the film has a very clear, but perhaps unintentional, interpretation of his behaviour in his final years. Mishima's decision to re-focus his life away from what he came to see as an artificial world of words to the real world of action and was, in fact, simply replacing one artistic activity with another. His final actions were performance art. Assesed objectively they served no genuine policital or social purpose at all. A film worth watching for anybody interested in Mishima's work or Japanese culture. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although it never achieved the classic status ofMartin Scorsese's Taxi Driver or the greater critical acclaim of his own Blue Collar, Hardcore remains a vital film from the early career of writer-director Paul Schrader. It's a solid companion piece to Taxi Driver (and uses much of the same crew, including cinematographer Michael Chapman), with a similar descent-into-hell storyline. Schrader's strict Calvinist upbringing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, provides the semi-autobiographical launching point for a journey into the dark heart of pornography and prostitution, beginning when a stern, morally upright Calvinist father (George C. Scott) learns that his teenage daughter has vanished during a church-sponsored visit to California. She's a runaway on a rapidly downward spiral, and Scott recruits a sleazy private detective (Peter Boyle) and a sympathetic porno-actress (Season Hubley) to try and find her. Although Schrader's much-criticized ending doesn't ring entirely true, there's much to admire here, from Scott's memorably anguished performance to the vivid authenticity of the film's seedy, threatening locations and the conflicting moral issues raised in an atmosphere of hopeless depravity. As its title suggests, Hardcore is a potent, uncompromising film, definitely not for prudes or underage viewers. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Amazon.com

Paul Schrader's Forever Mine tells a not-very-compelling, still-less-credible story of love, betrayal, and retribution. A cabana boy (Joseph Fiennes) at a Florida beach resort falls hard for a gorgeous guest (Gretchen Mol) neglected by her wheeler-dealer husband (Ray Liotta). After a steamy nude scene and a sweet, barefoot date, Fiennes follows her home to New York and declares undying love. Mol, a good Catholic girl who reads Madame Bovary, confesses the affair to Liotta. Being shadier than she realizes, he arranges to have nasty things befall his rival. Cut to 14 years later (though in fact the movie has been shuffling time periods since the beginning): Fiennes, long presumed dead, resurfaces to lend his talents (he's become a master criminal) to the now thoroughly corrupt Liotta and see what his beloved is up to. Fiennes has a new name, and a scar on one side of his face, so neither recognizes him. You don't have a problem with that, do you?

Nonrecognition is always a tricky proposition in movies, but Forever Mine's problems don't end there. Fiennes, sans Shakespeare in Love beard and Bardlike charisma, doesn't begin to suggest a guy who'd inspire obsession. His costar's attempt at creating a soul sister to Emma Bovary is as underacted as it is underwritten, and Liotta's husband is just a lout, despite a desperate stab at giving him a virtually literary sensitivity regarding his romantic one-upping. You want a spellbinding Schrader movie about outré passion and literary mystery, look up The Comfort of Strangers. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (21)

IMPASSIONATE PASSION
I have felt that Paul Schrader is one of those artsy directors who critics love, but his movies rarely approach classic status, with the exception of "Taxi Driver." In FOREVER MINE, which is indeed reminiscent of oldies like BACK STREET or MADAME X, Joseph Fiennes plays a cabana man, a beach boy, who finds himself madly in love with the lovely Gretchen Mol. His reason for falling in love so quickly extends from seeing her come out of the ocean in a white bathing suit (Bo Derek in 10?). Mol, of course, is recently married to her boss, the slimy Ray Liotta. Their steamy affair sparks the first half of the movie, and then we flash forward about 14 years and we meet Fiennes again on an airplane, a new identity, heading for New York. He wants revenge on Liotta, who after Mol confesses of her affair, had Fiennes killed, or so he thought.
This movie is filmed nicely and Mol does a job worthy of Lana Turner or Susan Hayward, but Fiennes is less passionate than a John Gavin, and Liotta is just wasted in a poorly written role. That's the main problem with this movie---for a passionate film, it has no passion or soul. How can we really care about Fiennes or even Mol, for that matter? He is more in lust, and she is dumb enough to stay with Liotta, even after knowing what he did to Fiennes.
FOREVER MINE is a soap opera for sure, but it doesn't have a lot of bubbles.

twisted love
Fiennes is great as the man who is obsessed and in love with Gretchen Mol(id like to tap that ass) who is married to the awesome Ray Liotta(who is good as always). good suspense/romantic story with a gripping premise. theres also a nude scene. watch it and enjoy

forever mine
a great love story...it has all the elements ... what I would like to say ..I am interested in the getting the sound tract to thi movie....it has great music...anyone with the soundtrack or anyone who can tell me where to get a soundtrack I would appreciate that very much....email calvin@acs-isp.com

Forever Mine? - Oh, Never Mind
An excruciatingly boring movie with nothing to recommend it. Hard to believe that any film could make Joseph Fiennes seem uncharasmatic or Ray Liotta appear talentless, but this one manages to bury them both underneath an avalanche of trite cliches and slow pacing. Leading lady Gretchen Mol tries to bring life to her role through a series of overwrought grimaces, but she only comes off as a refugee from an old-fashioned melodrama. The script is abysmal; rather than allowing the characters to show any real emotion, it has them spell out their feelings to the audience via a series of "remember when's". As in, "Remember when I first saw you and my heart stopped?" Or, "Remember when we drank beers and gazed passionately into each other's eyes?" (snore) The cheesy dialogue isn't helped at all by Angelo Badalmenti's syrupy score, or the slightly out-of-focus "romantic" photography. On the whole, a silly and sophomoric dud that didn't make the theatrical rounds ... and isn't any better on home video.

Slightly Noir-ish & Incredibly Soapy Love & Revenge Story
Director Paul Schrader, known as writer too (of "Taxi Driver" and others), may not be everyone's favorite, and you are not impressed with his name any more, but still his style is unique in reminding me of those soapy, but engaging melodramas made in Hollywood in the 1950s.

Look at this story: Joseph Fiennes plays a towel boy (with a Spanish accent) at the beach of Miami, where he meets a newly-wed, but neglected wife (and Catholic) Gretchen Mol. Her husband Ray Liotta is dealing some (shady) business, and while he is away from the hotel, Fiennes and Mol fall in love with each other. Soon, however, sense of guilt compels her to confess the affair, and the enraged husband hires men to do what you know already when the film gets started.

Well, that's just a beginning. The director makes Fiennes come back years later, under heavy disguise of beard and another hairstyle and ... but wait! this is the most tricky part of the film. A British Fiennes, previously playing none other than the Bard, William Shakespeare, appears as a Hispanic American, and then he undergoes a physical transformation ... you really need a strong will to suspend the disbelief. But when you get over that part, and forget the fact that Liotta is typecast as a lout again, you will be entertained pretty much.

The fact is the story is not important. The obsession of the characters is playing the main part, and their acting is not bad, so the ride is quite agreeable, though predictable. Perhaps it is Gretchen Mol that attracts the eyes of the audience, male ones in particular. She is good as a wife torn between the love and the guilt.

As he always does, Paul Schrader sees the world from a different viewpoint, with our ordinary characteristics removed, and not-so-normal aspects exaggerated. The gorgeous seaside hotel of the opening scene looks somehow different, or bizzare perhaps (with the score of Angelo Padalamenti, famous for David Lynch films), and the characaters speak often corny dialogues as if they know they belong to those soap opera world. But that may be exactly the point. ... Read more

Reviews (51)

A bleak town and a dark legacy
Based on a novel by Russell Banks who also wrote "The Sweet Hereafter", and directed by Paul Schrader of "Raging Bull" and "The Mosquito Coast" fame, the winter landscape and cold bleakness of the town sets the tone for this exploration of the dark legacy of what it is to be a man.

Nick Nolte stars in this dark story of a the lone policeman in a small New Hampshire town investigating a hunting accident. He is divorced and trying and to get custody of his young daughter who rejects his fumbling efforts to be nice to her. James Coburn is excellent as Nick Nolte's father, a brutal and angry old man who typifies a sick machismo which has in turn afflicted his son. His acting is extraordinary as is Nolte's although their styles are different. Noltle is subtle; his facial expressions are controlled and typical of a man who has learned to hold in emotion. Coburn's face, on the other hand, is more deeply expressive; his eyebrows move, his mouth hardens, his eyes glare.

This is the kind of dark, brooding movie that I like. For a brief few hours I enter its world and get completely absorbed in the characters in the way I did with "A thousand Acres" or "The Horse Whisperers". Like these films, there are no easy answers and the conclusion does not wrap up in a neat little Hollywood package that is soon forgotten. Recommended.

Definitely not a date-flick.
I'll say this: this film is pretty good for Schrader, which means that a director with a better sense of pacing would have done this material much better. But, we got what we got. It's certainly devoid of sentimentality: perhaps Schrader's best virtue is that he doesn't pander to an audience. The proceedings are in-your-face and austere in the extreme. I'm still unsure what to think of Mr. Nolte's performance: it's the same old Nolte performance, only with more misery. But here, that just might be okay. Wish he'd get his voice-box operated on, though -- it's getting hard to understand what he's saying. All in all, that Mt. Rushmore face and gravelly voice in all that misery might be more than most folks can stand for a duration of 2 hours. As for Coburn, call that acting job one-note all you want, but you'll probably won't forget it any time soon.

While I commend the fact that there's no overblown "confrontation scene" (like I said, Schrader never panders), the ancillary subplots, i.e. the hunting accident and the devious manuevers of a local real estate developer, are pedestrian at best and irrelevant at worst. Wade is what matters; if you can't come up with a good plot device, don't bother. Also: perhaps because of Nolte's performance, I never felt all that in touch with Wade emotionally -- with the one exception of that primal "tooth" scene. Besides that scene, we only see him the way others see him, which is unfortunate because he would make a terrific character study. Ultimately, that distance harms the film and makes this an incomplete experience.

Affliction (1999)
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, William Dafoe, Jim True, Mary Beth Hurt.
Running Time: 114 minutes.
Rated R for language and mild child abuse.

Director Paul Schrader's account of the troubles that child abuse can bring to those afflicted much later in life--the everlasting affect that the criminality and brutality of the fear it can cause. "Affliction" is not an uplifting film and it tends to drag throughout, but it can at times be very powerful and depressing. Small-town New Hampshire constable Nick Nolte investigates an accidental shooting that he believes to be murder; meanwhile, his personal life deteriorates as he is haunted by a horrific childhood terrorized by a drunken, abusive father (played brilliantly by James Coburn, who would earn an Oscar for the role).

The story twists and turns between two themes, but mainly gets tangled and disjointed by the end of the film. Schrader does not seem confident in choosing to focus more on the murder conspiracy or the father-son relationship between Nolte and Coburn. While Coburn's performance was celebrated, Sissy Spacek is very good as Nolte's wife and William Dafoe is perfectly casted as the concerned, loving brother. The final result of "Affliction" is melodramatic, slightly bleak, and overall implausible; however, the excellent roles carry this motion picture from the gutter and heighten it as a moderately effective drama.

BORING!!!!
I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me.

BORING!!!
I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Paul Schrader had established his reputation as a screenwriter (The Yakuza and Taxi Driver, among others) before embarking on his directorial debut. Blue Collar is the story of threeworking-class guys at the Checker auto plant who run their local union office. Richard Pryor delivers a funny, passionate, seething performance in one of his rare dramatic roles as a rabble-rousing union man. Trapped by family worries and crippling back taxes, he dreams up the robbery after scoping out the joint and enlists his coworker and buddies, family man Harvey Keitel andhigh-living bachelor Yaphet Kotto, who are in similar financial straits. This is a strictly amateur-hour heist, and their successful getaway is the last bit of good luck in store for the trio. The robbery turns up no cash, only incriminating files, and the inept thieves are soon blackmailing the powerful union, which fights back with force, seduction, and murder. Schrader's first film has little of the polish or style he developed by American Gigolo, but his portrait of lower middle class families in 1970s Detroit, interracial relations, and male camaraderie is sharp and insightful. His attention to detail shows in every frame and adds to the edgy material, which balances the thriller plot with social commentary about corruption, labor relations, and the lure of power. Schrader's later films show more subtlety and cinematic confidence, but time hasn't dimmed the power he unleashes in this angry working class drama.

The DVD features commentary by Paul Schrader, his first such audio track, guided and prodded by critic Maitland McDonagh, who does her best to draw the director out of his long silences and launch him into his fascinating production stories. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Humane
Unusual in the usual world of American movie theater. Thought provoking and very consequential, certainly not unpredictable but somehow enriching and very humane. The characters of drug dealers turn out to be very likeable and egzistential.
There are many weaknesses in this plot - violent end seems to be repeating "Taxi Driver" but it is more like "Crime And Punishment," nevertheless it is very simplistic. Drug dealer is apparently more of a character of Paul Schreader than a realistic immersion into the psyche of a drug dealer. Main characters narates too much as if we have a problem to understand his actions, unneccessary in my view. And there is a genuine bad guy to create the vent for the eventual explosion at the end. He is reduced, reduced to inhumanity as if to underline the humanity of others that some of us would have a trouble accepting. All in all a lot of weak places and yet because these types of intelligent movies are so rare, it is so much beyond the usual Holywood entertainment sewer.

Perennial
I can watch this film at the drop of a hat and not mind that I've seen it a million times. It's not my favourite film, and I have more than a few criticisms of it, but overall, it's one that I'm glad I own.

The acting is fine--Susan Sarandon and Willem Dafoe always are--and Dany Delany does a credible job, but the real star is the screenplay, which was written by the director Paul Schrader. It's endlessly quotable, realistic, funny, and at times thought-provoking.

The soundtrack is marred by having the same no-name singer (who's trying so desperately to ape Bryan Ferry) all throughout--and I thought Vonda Sheppard was lousy--but the incidental music is nice.

Completely overlooked, and well worth the rental.

Fascinating Nocturnal Urban Desperation
Willem Dafoe (John) is a reformed junky with a conscience, delivering drugs for an upscale dealer played superbly by Susan Sarandon (Ann). John works dispassionately during the night and without anything to believe in, visits psychics, to try to give meaning to the life he sees changing as Ann trys to go legit with a cosmetics business. Not having saved much and not having another trade, John senses a climax coming; he doesn't know in what form it will appear, but he's not backing away from it.

Women associated with the main drug buying client are dying, apparent suicides and when the last one has a very personal connection to John (Dana Delany - very well acted although the character isn't developed sufficiently), it sets up the violent climax to the movie. John almost welcomes the outcome as his dispair worsens and jail or death wouldn't be an unwelcome change.

The direction is uniquely Shrader. The characters are very well actualized (with the noted excption above). The performances are amazing which should come as no surprise considering the professional abilities of all. The mood remains constant while the soundtrack suits the movie without appealing excessively to only one generation as many do. The visuals as shown in the subdued and grainy colors enhance the overall impact this movie has. This movie is more about a life style than plot driven. The characters are all in denial about the changes in the world to which they need to adapt if they want to survive. It addresses survivorship of those who didn't plan the next phase of their life very well, have been getting by on their wits, but are finding a changing world no longer respects the decreasingly marketable skills those wits once represented.

While not an uplifting movie, it stays with you and is definitely recommended.

Willem Dafoe: Major Romantic & Erotic Dream Figure
Writer-director Paul Schrader delivers his most satisfying film for me. He is even better known for his work when he solely screenwriters, such as for his unsurpassed "Taxi Driver," directed by his frequent collaborator, Marty Scorsese. For his own solo film though, this is my favorite. Schrader's film work is frequently compared to the late Robert Bresson's films. However, Bresson has always been a little too painterly for me. Schrader is painterly enough and to make it any more so evokes that dreaded word in film: slow. I frankly prefer this film to the Bresson films I've seen, which makes me a film heretic I realize. Urban alienation is at the core of this film, which is true of all Schrader's work, and Willem Dafoe plays a nocturnal drug dealer who doesn't get much sleep (hence the title), probably because his dreams remain so elusive from his grasp, as a metaphor for the overall film. Two women present the immediate conflict in the film. Susan Sarandon plays a drug dealer who Dafoe works for and she tells him that they both need to get out of dealing. She plans to open a legitimate cosmetics business and seems capable of following through on the idea. She is the most in control of her life of the three main characters. Dana Delany plays Dafoe's former lover, who doesn't want anything to do with him because they were substance abusers together in the past. Although he's clean now, he still deals. But is her character as squeaky clean as she now proclaims to be? Dafoe needs to figure that out. Further tension comes about from the eroticism between Dafoe and Delany plus the growing potential for eroticism between Dafoe and Sarandon. Dafoe is absolutely wonderful in this film and becomes a major romantic and erotic dream figure for the viewer regardless of what the viewer thinks of him vis a vis the two women.

Good flick, great acting from Willem Dafoe
This is a pretty good movie about a drug dealer with a conscience. I enjoyed the look and feel of the film, but felt that the script and storyline struggled at points. In one instance, Dafoe's character relates "White drugs for white people". Also, Dana Delaney puts in a good performance but definitely second to Dafoe's - her performance is not quite complete, and I was left feeling as though the film just had that extra something missing. Still, Dafoe does enough subtle things with his character to make the movie worth watching. ... Read more

Description

A young woman discovers that romantic love has tragic consequences, as her lust transforms her into one of the Cat People. Based on Val Lewton's 1942 classic film. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Paul Schrader's Affliction, adapted from thenovel by Russell Banks (The Sweet Hereafter), charts the slow descent of small-town sheriff Wade Whitehouse (a raspy, gruffly restrained Nick Nolte) into violence, the legacy of the corrupt love of an abusive, alcoholic father. The story ostensibly centers on a hunting death on the outskirts of town, but as Wade digs into what may or not be a conspiracy, his personal life spirals out of control. James Coburn, who deservedly won an Oscar for his mocking, sneering performance, is Wade's father, who jumps back into the cycle of abuse when Wade moves in to care for the aging man. Chronicling the story in distant, dispassionate tones is Willem Dafoe as Wade's younger brother Rolfe, who "escaped" his father's legacy in a world of books. Schrader has made his reputation revealing the scarred psyches of American men trying to reconcile the contradictions of masculine fantasy and social reality, as in his screenplays for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and in Affliction he creates his most poignant and powerful work. The quiet beauty of the snow-blanketed New Hampshire setting (using Canadian locations) and Schrader's restrained yet intimate cinematic style builds the underlying emotional tensions until they explode in startling close-ups, revealing the repressed fear, rage, and helplessness cracking through Wade's carefully maintained façade. As Rolfe's narration coolly analyzes his brother's affliction, he reveals his own: an emotional remove so complete that he's edited himself out of his family history. The legacy of abuse leaves no one untouched. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (51)

A bleak town and a dark legacy
Based on a novel by Russell Banks who also wrote "The Sweet Hereafter", and directed by Paul Schrader of "Raging Bull" and "The Mosquito Coast" fame, the winter landscape and cold bleakness of the town sets the tone for this exploration of the dark legacy of what it is to be a man.

Nick Nolte stars in this dark story of a the lone policeman in a small New Hampshire town investigating a hunting accident. He is divorced and trying and to get custody of his young daughter who rejects his fumbling efforts to be nice to her. James Coburn is excellent as Nick Nolte's father, a brutal and angry old man who typifies a sick machismo which has in turn afflicted his son. His acting is extraordinary as is Nolte's although their styles are different. Noltle is subtle; his facial expressions are controlled and typical of a man who has learned to hold in emotion. Coburn's face, on the other hand, is more deeply expressive; his eyebrows move, his mouth hardens, his eyes glare.

This is the kind of dark, brooding movie that I like. For a brief few hours I enter its world and get completely absorbed in the characters in the way I did with "A thousand Acres" or "The Horse Whisperers". Like these films, there are no easy answers and the conclusion does not wrap up in a neat little Hollywood package that is soon forgotten. Recommended.

Definitely not a date-flick.
I'll say this: this film is pretty good for Schrader, which means that a director with a better sense of pacing would have done this material much better. But, we got what we got. It's certainly devoid of sentimentality: perhaps Schrader's best virtue is that he doesn't pander to an audience. The proceedings are in-your-face and austere in the extreme. I'm still unsure what to think of Mr. Nolte's performance: it's the same old Nolte performance, only with more misery. But here, that just might be okay. Wish he'd get his voice-box operated on, though -- it's getting hard to understand what he's saying. All in all, that Mt. Rushmore face and gravelly voice in all that misery might be more than most folks can stand for a duration of 2 hours. As for Coburn, call that acting job one-note all you want, but you'll probably won't forget it any time soon.

While I commend the fact that there's no overblown "confrontation scene" (like I said, Schrader never panders), the ancillary subplots, i.e. the hunting accident and the devious manuevers of a local real estate developer, are pedestrian at best and irrelevant at worst. Wade is what matters; if you can't come up with a good plot device, don't bother. Also: perhaps because of Nolte's performance, I never felt all that in touch with Wade emotionally -- with the one exception of that primal "tooth" scene. Besides that scene, we only see him the way others see him, which is unfortunate because he would make a terrific character study. Ultimately, that distance harms the film and makes this an incomplete experience.

Affliction (1999)
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, William Dafoe, Jim True, Mary Beth Hurt.
Running Time: 114 minutes.
Rated R for language and mild child abuse.

Director Paul Schrader's account of the troubles that child abuse can bring to those afflicted much later in life--the everlasting affect that the criminality and brutality of the fear it can cause. "Affliction" is not an uplifting film and it tends to drag throughout, but it can at times be very powerful and depressing. Small-town New Hampshire constable Nick Nolte investigates an accidental shooting that he believes to be murder; meanwhile, his personal life deteriorates as he is haunted by a horrific childhood terrorized by a drunken, abusive father (played brilliantly by James Coburn, who would earn an Oscar for the role).

The story twists and turns between two themes, but mainly gets tangled and disjointed by the end of the film. Schrader does not seem confident in choosing to focus more on the murder conspiracy or the father-son relationship between Nolte and Coburn. While Coburn's performance was celebrated, Sissy Spacek is very good as Nolte's wife and William Dafoe is perfectly casted as the concerned, loving brother. The final result of "Affliction" is melodramatic, slightly bleak, and overall implausible; however, the excellent roles carry this motion picture from the gutter and heighten it as a moderately effective drama.

BORING!!!!
I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me.

BORING!!!
I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This compelling 1992 drama is often cited as the third film in writer-director Paul Schrader's trilogy of "nocturnal alienation" that includes Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (which Schrader wrote) and American Gigolo. Like those other films, this one deals with a solitary man who works almost exclusively at night, and the film immerses us in the rhythms and psychology of his lifestyle. In this case, Willem Dafoe plays a cocaine addict who has kicked the habit that almost killed him, but still delivers drugs to clients for a dealer (Susan Sarandon) who dreams of opening a legitimate cosmetics business. He meets an old lover (Dana Delany) who fears he will draw her into their old life of drug abuse, but that proves to be the least of their worries. Simultaneously sad, funny, and fascinating, the film inevitably leads to the outburst of violence that has become a kind of signature in Schrader's work. It lacks the visceral impact of Taxi Driver, but few directors can match Schrader's gift for creating fully realized characters on the fringes of a society to which they don't quite belong. Insomnia, in Schrader's world, is a condition suffered by those whose dreams remain elusive, just beyond their grasp. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Humane
Unusual in the usual world of American movie theater. Thought provoking and very consequential, certainly not unpredictable but somehow enriching and very humane. The characters of drug dealers turn out to be very likeable and egzistential.
There are many weaknesses in this plot - violent end seems to be repeating "Taxi Driver" but it is more like "Crime And Punishment," nevertheless it is very simplistic. Drug dealer is apparently more of a character of Paul Schreader than a realistic immersion into the psyche of a drug dealer. Main characters narates too much as if we have a problem to understand his actions, unneccessary in my view. And there is a genuine bad guy to create the vent for the eventual explosion at the end. He is reduced, reduced to inhumanity as if to underline the humanity of others that some of us would have a trouble accepting. All in all a lot of weak places and yet because these types of intelligent movies are so rare, it is so much beyond the usual Holywood entertainment sewer.

Perennial
I can watch this film at the drop of a hat and not mind that I've seen it a million times. It's not my favourite film, and I have more than a few criticisms of it, but overall, it's one that I'm glad I own.

The acting is fine--Susan Sarandon and Willem Dafoe always are--and Dany Delany does a credible job, but the real star is the screenplay, which was written by the director Paul Schrader. It's endlessly quotable, realistic, funny, and at times thought-provoking.

The soundtrack is marred by having the same no-name singer (who's trying so desperately to ape Bryan Ferry) all throughout--and I thought Vonda Sheppard was lousy--but the incidental music is nice.

Completely overlooked, and well worth the rental.

Fascinating Nocturnal Urban Desperation
Willem Dafoe (John) is a reformed junky with a conscience, delivering drugs for an upscale dealer played superbly by Susan Sarandon (Ann). John works dispassionately during the night and without anything to believe in, visits psychics, to try to give meaning to the life he sees changing as Ann trys to go legit with a cosmetics business. Not having saved much and not having another trade, John senses a climax coming; he doesn't know in what form it will appear, but he's not backing away from it.

Women associated with the main drug buying client are dying, apparent suicides and when the last one has a very personal connection to John (Dana Delany - very well acted although the character isn't developed sufficiently), it sets up the violent climax to the movie. John almost welcomes the outcome as his dispair worsens and jail or death wouldn't be an unwelcome change.

The direction is uniquely Shrader. The characters are very well actualized (with the noted excption above). The performances are amazing which should come as no surprise considering the professional abilities of all. The mood remains constant while the soundtrack suits the movie without appealing excessively to only one generation as many do. The visuals as shown in the subdued and grainy colors enhance the overall impact this movie has. This movie is more about a life style than plot driven. The characters are all in denial about the changes in the world to which they need to adapt if they want to survive. It addresses survivorship of those who didn't plan the next phase of their life very well, have been getting by on their wits, but are finding a changing world no longer respects the decreasingly marketable skills those wits once represented.

While not an uplifting movie, it stays with you and is definitely recommended.

Willem Dafoe: Major Romantic & Erotic Dream Figure
Writer-director Paul Schrader delivers his most satisfying film for me. He is even better known for his work when he solely screenwriters, such as for his unsurpassed "Taxi Driver," directed by his frequent collaborator, Marty Scorsese. For his own solo film though, this is my favorite. Schrader's film work is frequently compared to the late Robert Bresson's films. However, Bresson has always been a little too painterly for me. Schrader is painterly enough and to make it any more so evokes that dreaded word in film: slow. I frankly prefer this film to the Bresson films I've seen, which makes me a film heretic I realize. Urban alienation is at the core of this film, which is true of all Schrader's work, and Willem Dafoe plays a nocturnal drug dealer who doesn't get much sleep (hence the title), probably because his dreams remain so elusive from his grasp, as a metaphor for the overall film. Two women present the immediate conflict in the film. Susan Sarandon plays a drug dealer who Dafoe works for and she tells him that they both need to get out of dealing. She plans to open a legitimate cosmetics business and seems capable of following through on the idea. She is the most in control of her life of the three main characters. Dana Delany plays Dafoe's former lover, who doesn't want anything to do with him because they were substance abusers together in the past. Although he's clean now, he still deals. But is her character as squeaky clean as she now proclaims to be? Dafoe needs to figure that out. Further tension comes about from the eroticism between Dafoe and Delany plus the growing potential for eroticism between Dafoe and Sarandon. Dafoe is absolutely wonderful in this film and becomes a major romantic and erotic dream figure for the viewer regardless of what the viewer thinks of him vis a vis the two women.

Good flick, great acting from Willem Dafoe
This is a pretty good movie about a drug dealer with a conscience. I enjoyed the look and feel of the film, but felt that the script and storyline struggled at points. In one instance, Dafoe's character relates "White drugs for white people". Also, Dana Delaney puts in a good performance but definitely second to Dafoe's - her performance is not quite complete, and I was left feeling as though the film just had that extra something missing. Still, Dafoe does enough subtle things with his character to make the movie worth watching. ... Read more