Review of After Hours (1985) by Rodney W — 14 Dec 2011

Pepe: Art sure is ugly.

Neil: Shows how much you know about art. The uglier the art, the more it's worth.

Pepe: This must be worth a fortune, man.

Pepe and Neil are a couple of thieves and just two of the many oddly pretentious characters that Paul Hackett runs into. After meeting a woman at a local coffee shop and scoring her number, Paul heads to downtown SoHo to meet her at her apartment. He expects a romantic evening. What he gets is a bizarre series of events and comedic irony that's too smart for the filmâ(TM)s own good. Of course a twenty dollar bill lost during a hellish cab ride ends up on a Paper-Mache model of Edvard Munchsâ(TM) The Scream: Weâ(TM)re stuck in a nightmare. Everything makes sense, yet everything doesnâ(TM)t. And like Paul, we feel paranoid, nervous, and ultimately, left wanting to catch our breath.

Ebert calls it a draining film â" and how! When the end credits roll, we feel like weâ(TM)ve run a marathon. The film doesnâ(TM)t let up and we want Paul to get home more than he wants to get home. This visual attack of style is painful, yet Iâ(TM)d be lying if I said I wasnâ(TM)t entertained. We have no idea where this film is going and that keeps us engaged. Every person Paul runs into is unique and there are laughs to be had, but at the expense of confusion and awkwardness.

And this film is awkward. We donâ(TM)t know whether to laugh at our characterâ(TM)s misfortune or stare at his futility. We feel frustrated because Paul is frustrated and in that respect, we can sympathize with his hapless evening. And if that is what Scorsese was going for, he succeeds. As a hellish fever dream, it works. In the ninety-ish minutes we spend with New Yorkâ(TM)s whacky society, we donâ(TM)t feel gipped.

Some critics will call this a masterpiece. But it ranks nowhere near the caliber of Mean Streets, Goodfellas, or Taxi Driver. That being said, itâ(TM)s still not a bad picture â" has Scorsese made a âbadâ? picture? I find myself feeling that if anyone other than Scorsese had made it, After Hours wouldnâ(TM)t have gotten the acclaim that so many people thinks it deserves.