Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

After Hours
1985
****½
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Thomas Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, John Heard, Richard Cheech Marin, Catherine O'Hara, Dick Miller, Will Patton

Paul is a mild-mannered word processor who goes out to meet a beautiful woman he ran into in a café, but finds himself caught in a surreal series of events during a single night in New York City. Martin Scorsese's short and breezy dark comedy, which shares DNA with Into the Night (1985) and Something Wild (1986), is like a cinematic reimagining of a nightmare you cannot wake up from. Paul encounters eccentric characters and bizarre situations, but struggles to escape his desperate predicament. Howard Shore's soundtrack is wonderful.