Article summary

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

Customer's review

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" in a sort of casual "Crime And Punishment" way, nevertheless it is very simplistic. Drug dealer is apparently more in a character of Paul Schreader than a realistic immersion into the psyche of a drug dealer. The main character narates too much as if we have a problem to understand his actions, unnecessary in my view. And there is a genuine bad guy as if to create the vent for the eventual explosion at the end. He is reduced to inhumanity perhaps to underline the humanity of others that some of us would have trouble accepting. All in all few weak places and yet because these types of intelligent movies are so rare, it is so much beyond the typical Holywood entertainment sewer. All the actors are doing great work as expected.

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.

Light Sleeper

Article summary

Customer's review

Humane

Humane

Perennial

Fascinating Nocturnal Urban Desperation

Willem Dafoe: Major Romantic & Erotic Dream Figure

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