It has been a long time since I first viewed this film in the late 1980's in an edited version to get that "R" rating but it's finally available for everyone to watch in the original version that the director wanted. Story is set in 1955 where a sloppy and dirty private eye named Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is given a call for a job and he heads to a church in Harlem, New York where he meets Louis Cyphre (Robert DeNiro) who gives him $5,000 to try and locate someone named Johnny Favorite. Angel heads to a mental hospital where Favorite was a patient and there he learns that a doctor was given a large sum of money to make it look as though he stayed there longer than he did. The trail leads Angel to Louisiana where he meets Epiphany Proudfoot.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Epiphany (Lisa Bonet) tells Angel that her mother knew Favorite but now has no information on whether he's alive or not. While in Louisiana some of the people that knew Favorite start to die suddenly and it usually comes after Angel has interviewed them and the local police start to wonder how he is involved.
This film is directed by Alan Parker who has such a diversified resume as far as the different types of films he has directed. But two elements in this story are reminiscent of previous efforts by him. The first is the time period (In this case the 50's) and Parker has dealt with period pieces before. And secondly he has made films that showcased the Southern culture and this film does a commendable job of being shot in the humidity of Louisiana. I personally am not as high on this film as others and it's primarily because the script does wander and then lag in the middle as Rourke's investigation goes on without even a hint that he's getting closer to the target. This is a muddled and murky mystery that seems to go on and on but there are some things that raise this film high enough for me to recommend. The set design gives this film such a rich feel for it's time period and the cinematography by Michael Seresin is excellent as he captures the heat and sweat of the Louisiana Bayou. Seresin has shot many of Parker's films and together they certainly have a special relationship that's reflected in their work. But the special thing about this film are the good performances by Rourke and Bonet and they together give one of the steamiest sex scenes in movie history. Parker had to trim it by a few seconds to get the "R" rating but you can view the original scene now on DVD. Rourke plays one of the sloppiest characters in recent memory and he's always unshaven and dripping from sweat. But with that he still keeps the audience interested in what he is doing during the investigation and Rourke always had good screen charisma. This was Bonet's first big role in a film and she's very good as a sexy young Cajun girl that's involved in black magic. This should have led her to some sort of a film career but it never did which is to bad because she shows so much promise here. This story has many twists and turns and even though it bogs down after a while it's still a well made film that leaves an indelible mark of sorts.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Epiphany (Lisa Bonet) tells Angel that her mother knew Favorite but now has no information on whether he's alive or not. While in Louisiana some of the people that knew Favorite start to die suddenly and it usually comes after Angel has interviewed them and the local police start to wonder how he is involved.
This film is directed by Alan Parker who has such a diversified resume as far as the different types of films he has directed. But two elements in this story are reminiscent of previous efforts by him. The first is the time period (In this case the 50's) and Parker has dealt with period pieces before. And secondly he has made films that showcased the Southern culture and this film does a commendable job of being shot in the humidity of Louisiana. I personally am not as high on this film as others and it's primarily because the script does wander and then lag in the middle as Rourke's investigation goes on without even a hint that he's getting closer to the target. This is a muddled and murky mystery that seems to go on and on but there are some things that raise this film high enough for me to recommend. The set design gives this film such a rich feel for it's time period and the cinematography by Michael Seresin is excellent as he captures the heat and sweat of the Louisiana Bayou. Seresin has shot many of Parker's films and together they certainly have a special relationship that's reflected in their work. But the special thing about this film are the good performances by Rourke and Bonet and they together give one of the steamiest sex scenes in movie history. Parker had to trim it by a few seconds to get the "R" rating but you can view the original scene now on DVD. Rourke plays one of the sloppiest characters in recent memory and he's always unshaven and dripping from sweat. But with that he still keeps the audience interested in what he is doing during the investigation and Rourke always had good screen charisma. This was Bonet's first big role in a film and she's very good as a sexy young Cajun girl that's involved in black magic. This should have led her to some sort of a film career but it never did which is to bad because she shows so much promise here. This story has many twists and turns and even though it bogs down after a while it's still a well made film that leaves an indelible mark of sorts.