X
- 1985
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 37 m
- 1985
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 37 m
Summary A Manhattan Yuppie's night out becomes a comic nightmare. (Warner Bros.)
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Joseph Minion
- 1985
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 37 m
- 1985
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 37 m
After Hours
90
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary A Manhattan Yuppie's night out becomes a comic nightmare. (Warner Bros.)
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Joseph Minion
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
90
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
90
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
This unpredictable and hilarious paranoid fantasy is a contemporary, urban "Wizard of Oz," peopled by punk artists and Yuppie vigilantes instead of wicked witches and Munchkins. [5 Sep 1985, p.1]
Martin Scorsese’s take on NYC puts a hip spin on Joe Minion’s cleverly constructed nightmare.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 131 User Ratings
7.9
85% Positive
111 Ratings
111 Ratings
8% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
7% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 131 User Ratings
7.9
85% Positive
111 Ratings
111 Ratings
8% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
7% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
After Hours (1985), is such an insane, fever dream of a movie. It tests its characters to their absolute limits, seeing how much you can really put somebody **** what the movie really asks of Paul, and of the audience, is why is this happening?
It starts off with Paul (Griffin Dunne) at work as a word processor, training a new kid how to run the computer file systems. The kid tells him how this isn’t how he wants to spend his life, how it’s boring, and that he has bigger plans for himself than just being a word processor. This scene is so important to Paul’s character, since it most likely is why he went out in the first place. Feeling the need for spontaneity in his life and wanting to be more than just a word processor. In Paul’s words, he wants to just go out, have fun, and meet a girl.
“What do you want from me? I’m just a word processor!”
But Paul does go out, reading his favorite book in a nearby coffee shop where he meets Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). They hit it off, and he gets her number after being intrigued by some Plaster of Paris paperweights her friend makes. She leaves and he heads home, calling the number as soon as he does. She invites him over to where she’s staying so they can talk more. It made me think of the same thing that happens in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind when Jim Carrey calls Kate Winslet, saying that oddly enough he missed her, which holds two possible references to this movie with that exchange being shared with another character.
This is where the movie starts drifting away from any sort of normal narrative and we take a trip into the fever dream. From the incessant cab ride on, Paul gets blamed for a string of burglaries in the area, sought after by a violent mob, and mummified. Things that you see, and you really do start to sympathize for Paul. Many times, he is so close, but not quite there to being able to just… get… home.
A lot of this movie is insanely frustrating like that, but in a very funny way. Maybe due to just how ridden with anxiety the film makes the viewer. Two immediate scenes that stick out in this regard, when Paul is at the subway station trying to buy a ticket home and the attendant (Murray Moston) just isn’t having it. As well as the scene in the bar where Tom the bartender (John Heard) is trying to get change out of the register so he can take the subway home… that’s cinema right there. There’s also just a hilarious moment in the diner where Victor Argo’s character has ready the cheeseburger and coffee that Paul had ordered before dashing away. What this leads to, is that this movie, on top of being just very insane, is very funny. Something that is always appreciated, because we know Martin Scorsese can mix humor well in his movies. Look at The Wolf of Wall Street’ and Goodfellas for examples of movies that aren’t exactly comedies but have so many moments where you just cannot help but start laughing.
And what is this movie if not for its supporting cast, who do just as good a job as Dunne in this movie. We also have the unusual sculptress friend Kiki played by Linda Fiorentino. June (Verna Bloom), Neil and Pepe (Cheech and Chong), Julie (Teri Garr), and there’s even more where that came from. But those are the ones that really shine and help fill out the rest of this ensemble. I won’t lie either, the scenes with John Heard were some of my favorite in the movie.
What really makes this movie work is that is no real message or lesson to be learned. It really is, as they say, ‘No Plot Just Vibes: The Movie’. There are some existential moments, and you start to look for answers seeing how this could be happening to somebody like Paul, but there are no answers. Paul is just having a really, really bad night. But of course, the movie wants you to think about what’s happening and why, because that’s what Paul is asking himself. Look at all the closeups on Paul during these things, look at the confused look. He never really asks himself, why is this happening? Not out loud anyways.
Overall, I think it’s one of Scorsese’s best films, and one of his most undervalued. I mean, if you look on IMDb it’s ranked 17thin his filmography, and 14th on Letterboxd in terms of popularity. I also find it just very hard to find things wrong with this movie. I don’t think wondering what’s going on is a fault to this film but is the point and helps the movie in its existence.
If you do want to watch the movie, it was streaming, making it very accessible, but is only available for rent or purchase at the time of writing. In this writer’s opinion though, it is easily worth a few dollars and cents to watch.
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Martin Scorsese transforms a debilitating convention of 80s comedy--absurd underreaction to increasingly bizarre and threatening situations--into a rich, wincingly funny metaphysical farce. A lonely computer programmer is lured from the workday security of midtown Manhattan to an expressionistic late-night SoHo by the vague promise of casual sex with a mysterious blond.
After Hours is a brilliant film that is so original, so particular, that we are uncertain from moment to moment exactly how to respond to it. The style of the film creates, in us, the same feeling that the events in the film create in the hero. Interesting.
After Hours is a caffeinated black comedy with an emphasis on speed. With a small crew and a tight shooting schedule, Scorsese transformed limited means into a staccato burst of creative energy, playing up the extreme paranoia and frustration of a data processor stranded in Soho.
The cinema of paranoia and persecution reaches an apogee in After Hours, a nightmarish black comedy from Martin Scorsese. Anxiety-ridden picture would have been pretty funny if it didn't play like a confirmation of everyone's worst fears about contemporary urban life.
After Hours is not, ultimately, a satisfying film, but it's often vigorously unsettling.
This movie is both pure entertainment and an enigma that warrants being seen over and over again to start comprehending it's many layers. It's completely unique, thematically and in terms of it's feel in general, with haunting music that nests itself into your mind (can hear it now if I try) and excellent camera work which always compliments the action and mood. My favorite Scorsese movie by far and one of my favorite films in general. The fact that it never gets dull is testament to it greatness. I also like the fact that it's all set in one evening, which really pulls you into the situation with the character and forces you to share his sense of helplessness. If you have seen this you need to,
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Masterpiece of Scorcese: an inteligent comedy filmed through New York. Refinated humor is carachterized when sinalizations indicates "dead people" at apartment of Fiorentino´s...Unforntunatelly, haven´t been the appropriated recognized by the spectators. On of the best comedy´s of all time...
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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
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The decent cinematography and talented cast fail to excite under the flabby weight of the pretentious artists set free cocaine fuelled non sensical screenplay and plot. The pacing is all over the place and the 90 min runtime draaaags its heels. The character choices make little sense. An intriguing but ultimately empty ride.
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Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
