After Hours
~Martin Scorsese ~ 1985 ~ 1h. 37m. ~
Martin Scorsese
R | 1h 37min | Comedy, Crime, Drama | 1985
“Well whenever he - you know, when he came… ...he would just scream out, ‘Surrender Dorothy!’ That’s all! Just, ‘Surrender Dorothy!’"
Paul Hacket (Griffin Dunne) lives a comfortable, if somewhat drab life as a word processor. In a Manhattan café, he meets a young woman who tells him about her roommate who makes plaster of Paris paperweights. Under the pretense of buying one, Paul gets her number and makes his way to Soho for some action.
What follows can only be described as “the ultimate yuppie nightmare.” The Soho of the 80s was not the Soho of today. Instead of boutiques and chic brunch spots, Paul arrives to find half-empty warehouses, grimy dive bars and random street crime. As his bohemian fantasy unravels, Paul spends the rest of his night in a vain and desperate attempt to return home.
A darkly comedic take on Dante’s Inferno or the Wizard of Oz, After Hours is quite possibly my favorite movie. Uncanny and uncomfortable by design.
As seen by: Spencer Dick
09.22.2020