“WHEN YOU’RE ALONE AND LIFE IS MAKING YOU LONELY, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO… DOWNTOWN”
Certainly one of the films from the 1980s that genuinely typifies that decade is Martin Scorsese’s dark comedy, After Hours (1985). The picture is especially potent for anyone who might have lived in New York City during those years (as this reviewer did). Did the film work as well at the time for audiences without the New York frame of reference? Likely so, as the movie was a box office success… but there is no question that After Hours was funnier and more frighteningly familiar to native New Yorkers.
After Hours belongs in the surprisingly large group of movies that skew Manhattan into a metaphor for hell on earth. Others might include Midnight Cowboy (1969), The Out-of-Towners (1970), and Scorsese’s own Taxi Driver (1976). As someone who did live in Manhattan for many years, this reviewer can say with assurance that New York City was not hell on earth—but, like anywhere, it could become so if circumstances surrounding a person continually went from bad to worse on a given day (or, in this case, night).
Today, After Hours exists firmly entrenched in the decade in which it appeared. This was a time before mobile phones, for the movie’s plot could not occur had cell phones been in existence. A young, contemporary audience may not “get” After Hours without the 1980s milieu context. That said, After Hours is still a biting, fast-moving, comedy that is simultaneously realistic and surreal. As the director and author/comic Fran Lebowitz agree in an interview supplement, if one does not suspend disbelief and allow oneself to be in the movie while viewing it, then the insane logic of it all could fall apart.
By his own admission, in 1983-1984, Scorsese was in a dark place. Despite the huge success and acclaim for Raging Bull (1980), the director’s next picture, The King of Comedy (1982) was a financial flop and mostly disregarded by critics (although today it is held in very high esteem). Scorsese spent 1983 developing his passion project, The Last Temptation of Christ, and was all set to begin production when the studio got skittish and pulled the plug. Suddenly, Scorsese was box office poison.
Enter Griffin Dunne and Amy Robinson, actors who had taken up producing films. A film school thesis script by student Joseph Minion entitled Lies landed in their laps, and they loved it. Robinson, who had starred in Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1973), managed to get the script to the director. Scorsese, however, was busy with The Last Temptation of Christ and couldn’t do it. Dunne and Robinson had seen Tim Burton’s short film, Vincent, and they offered it to him, even though Burton had yet to make his first feature film. Burton was ready to sign on to do it, but then Last Temptation got cancelled, and Scorsese was unexpectedly free. Burton gracefully bowed out, and Scorsese thought the project might be a way to get him back into the film industry’s good graces. After some work on the script and the retitling to After Hours, the movie became a reality.
Griffin Dunne stars as Paul, an ordinary Joe who works in a boring Manhattan office job. One evening after work he meets Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) at an uptown diner. The flirtation feels real, and she invites him downtown to SoHo later. (This reviewer always wondered why the movie did not incorporate, along with all the other great pop tunes in the soundtrack, the Petula Clark song “Downtown”—“When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go… downtown!” It would have fit well.) Armed with a twenty dollar bill, Paul takes a cab to lower Manhattan, but uh-oh, the money literally flies out the open window on the way there. Now with only 97 cents in his pocket, Paul meets up with Marcy, who begins exhibiting strange behavior. She’s staying in the loft of an equally strange artist, Kiki (Linda Fiorentino), who makes bizarre plaster-of-Paris statues and objects. Without giving away too much, the “date” with Marcy does not go as planned, and Paul finds himself stranded in SoHo without the means to get home to the upper east side. The subway fare had gone up to $1.50 at midnight. In attempts to contact someone he knows so he can crash on a couch, Paul encounters a succession of even stranger characters such as thieves Pepe and Neil (Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin), neurotic waitress Julie (Teri Garr), maybe-sane, maybe-psychotic bartender Tom (John Heard), scary ice cream truck vendor Gail (Catherine O’Hara), lonely spinster June (Verna Bloom), and other misfits. Paul’s night indeed goes from bad to worse.
Scorsese’s direction of the proceedings is top-notch. He makes the film move with lightning speed (and the picture is only a brisk 97 minutes long) with his signature dynamic camera actions (the cinematography is by the great Michael Ballhaus, and the editing by longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker). The cast is all-in on the dark comedy, and each member is excellent. Other Scorsese character actor regulars make appearances (Victor Argo, Murray Moston, and Rocco Sisto) as well as familiar faces like Dick Miller, Bronson Pinchot, Larry Block, and Clarence Felder. Even Scorsese does a cameo as a searchlight operator in the extreme “Berlin Club,” that portrays a Manhattan nightmare of downtown danger.
The Criterion Collection’s new 4K digital restoration, approved by editor Schoonmaker, is presented on a 4K UHD disc with Dolby Vision HDR, and on a second Blu-ray disc with the film and special features. The picture quality is superb. There is an informative and fun audio commentary accompanying the movie with Scorsese, Schoonmaker, Ballhaus, Dunne, and Robinson. Supplements include the new and delightful aforementioned conversation between Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz about the film; a 2004 documentary on the making of the film with Dunne and Robinson; a new feature on the look of the film with production designer Jeffrey Townsend and costume designer Rita Ryack; and a few brief deleted scenes. An essay by critic Sheila O’Malley is contained in the package booklet.
After Hours may not be remembered as a top tier entry in Martin Scorsese’s filmography, but it is undoubtedly an important stepping stone for the director. After Hours is thoroughly entertaining, funny, and a tiny bit scary, too. Recommended for fans of Scorsese, New York City, and any of the featured actors.
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