“After Hours” (1985)

After he leaves work, Paul Hackett, a timid, word processor, portrayed by Oscar nominee, Griffin Dunne (An American Werewolf in London), sits alone in a Manhattan diner. He is reading Tropic of Cancer, written by Nobel Prize in Literature nominee, Henry Miller. Sitting a few tables away from Paul, is the attractive Marcy, played by BAFTA winner, Rosanna Arquette (Desperately Seeking Susan).  She begins talking to him about the book, even so far as to quote a line from its pages. Her interjection in Paul’s life leads to more conversation. In particular, about her roommate, Kiki, a role acted by BAFTA nominee, Linda Fiorentino (The Last Seduction). She is a sculptress, who according to Marcy, has been making plaster of paris bagels with cream cheese as paper weights.

Before exiting the dinner, Marcy gives Paul her phone number. When he returns to his drab apartment, with nothing to do, but wait until sleep takes him, Paul gets up the courage to call. The time is shortly before midnight. He’s invited to the SoHo loft Marcy shares with Kiki. During a hellish cab ride, (which is a precursor to the rest of Paul’s night), the twenty dollar bill, his only money, besides some loose change, flies out the window. When Hackett informs the taxi driver (Larry Block), about what happened with the money, he looks at him, like he is going to get out of the cab, and beat him up. Instead, he merely takes off. It’s almost as if the taxi driver is in on the nightmare, that Hackett is about to experience, and knows that he’ll get much worse in the next number of hours, than a punch to the face.                            

When Paul first arrives at the loft, Marcy is not there. He spends time with Kiki, until she gets there. After Marcy returns home, and she and Paul go to her bedroom, a viewer should get a strong sense that things aren’t panning out the way Paul hoped they would. The conversation, as well as, some painful reveals on Marcy’s part regarding her past, begin to overwhelm Paul. It reaches a point, that when Marcy leaves the room, he flees the apartment. Unfortunately for Paul, who will state a number of times throughout the night that he just wants to get home, and sleep, it is merely the beginning of his ordeal. He will go from one precarious situation to another. Along the way, Paul will meet an assortment of people, some attempting to be helpful, while other are attempting to capture him, and execute their own brand of vigilante justice, because they mistakenly believe, he is a thief, who has been burglarizing apartments in the neighborhood. Will Paul survive the night and make it home with both his physical well being and sanity intact?

The film was directed by Oscar winner, Martin Scorsese (The Departed). Joseph Minion (Motorama), wrote the screenplay. Enlivening cinematography by three time Oscar nominee, Michael Ballhaus (Gangs of New York), helps to heighten the surrealistic nightmare, Paul seemingly finds himself placed in. Further aiding to bolster the protagonist’s dread for the viewer, is the discordant score composed by three time Oscar winner, Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). After Hours first screened in Turkey on August 16, 1985, before it had its American premiere in Manhattan, in September of 1985. Parts comedy, crime, and drama, the movie has a runtime of 97 minutes.

Trivia buffs take note: The screenplay written by Joseph Minion was initially used by the writer as his thesis for Columbia Film School. He received an A for his work from his teacher, Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev (WR. Mysteries of the Organism). Two time Oscar nominee, and Emmy winner, Tim Burton (Beetlejuice) was originally slated to direct the film, but stepped aside for Scorsese, once he became available, because of production delays on the film The Last Temptation of Christ. Golden Globe winner, Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) and Emmy nominee, John Heard (The Sopranos), appear briefly together in one of the film’s scenes. Five years later, in 1990, they would portray Mr. and Mrs. McCallister in Home Alone. The film inspired the episode Beard After Hours, of the popular Apple TV series, Ted Lasso, which starred four time Emmy winner, Jason Sudeikis in the title role.  (As an aside: Additional cast members include amongst others: Oscar nominee, Teri Garr (Tootsie); prolific character actor, Dick Miller; and Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin, who each won a Grammy award for their work on the comedy album, Los Cochinos.

I recommend After Hours for fans of Martin Scorsese, who have never seen the film, or like myself, haven’t seen it in many years. It is also recommended for those of you, who are fans of the cast. As of the writing of this post, After Hours is streaming on Tubi.