AFTERGLOW
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: *** OUT OF ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 12/26/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:54 MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, sex, brief nudity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jonny Lee Miller Director: Alan Rudolph Producer: Robert Altman Screenplay: Alan Rudolph Cinematography: Toyomichi Kurita Music: Mark Isham U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
After a stylistic detour with MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE (which, despite its uncomfortable tone, was close to being a conventional movie), director Alan Rudolph has returned to his unique brand of film making with AFTERGLOW, a romantic black comedy about love, betrayal, and self-absorption. While these may not be the most unusual themes to fashion into a motion picture, Rudolph's atypical approach to the characters and their situations makes for an intriguing, if not always pleasant, movie.
It is said that Rudolph is a polarizing director – meaning that most viewers either love his work or hate it. Until MRS. PARKER, I had not been overly impressed by his movies. I found EQUINOX, his last pre- MRS. PARKER effort, to be irritating and frustrating. I was somewhat surprised, therefore, to discover that I liked AFTERGLOW. There are several reasons for this, but the paramount one is that Rudolph seems to have muted some of the most strident, mannered aspects of his approach. The characters here are more like real people with genuine problems, the story is absorbing, and the acting is top-notch. In short, Rudolph has created a world that it's worth spending two hours in.
AFTERGLOW introduces us to two unhappily married couples. Jeffrey Byron (Jonny Lee Miller) is a cold, seemingly-heartless businessman who is sexually indifferent to his young wife, Marianne (Lara Flynn Boyle). For her part, Marianne is so obsessed with having a baby that she never attempts to interact with her husband on a human level. All she's interested in is seducing him during those few days when she's ovulating. After he refuses to make love, she decides to find someone else to play the role of sperm donor.
The other couple, Lucky (Nick Nolte) and Phyllis Mann (Julie Christie), are an older pair, but they're no more content than Jeffrey and Marianne. A mysterious fracture in their past relationship has driven them apart. They remain married as a matter of convenience, but, since Phyllis won't allow Lucky to touch her, they have an unspoken agreement whereby he can fool around as much as he wants provided that no lasting bond is established as a result of these affairs. The landscape of emotional pain between them is palpable.
The four characters begin interacting when Marianne hires Lucky as a handyman to fix up the inside of the apartment she shares with Jeffrey. The two of them are immediately attracted to one another, and it doesn't take long before they're lounging together, naked, in her pool. Meanwhile, Jeffrey, who is captivated by older women, runs into Phyllis in a hotel bar, is smitten, and invites her to accompany him on a weekend retreat to the mountains.
The romantic couplings of the characters are interesting in that they illustrate the multiple faces of love. Sex means something different to everyone – to Jeffrey, it's an unpleasant chore, a loss of control; to Marianne, it's a means to a maternal end; to Lucky, it's an enjoyable distraction that blocks out his marital troubles; and to Phyllis, it's a method of establishing or denying emotional closeness. Ultimately, none of these characters appears to love anyone else as much as they love themselves.
The greatest strength of the film lies not in the script, but in the performances. Jonny Lee Miller is perfect as the selfish, callous, suit-and-tie businessman. Those who recall him as Sickboy in TRAINSPOTTING will find that he is almost unrecognizable here as the image of conformity. Lara Flynn Boyle, who wasn't impressive in Rudolph's EQUINOX, is greatly improved, making Marianne a jumble of sexiness and vulnerability. Nick Nolte is delightful as the uninhibited Lucky, and he manages to deliver some of Rudolph's most pregnant lines with practiced ease. The clear standout, however, is Julie Christie, who is nothing short of delicious as the world-weary Phyllis. Her often wry, occasionally cutting asides are the source of much of the film's humor, and there's hardly ever a moment when she doesn't steal the spotlight from her co-stars.
I don't know if AFTERGLOW is the film to convert Rudolph- detractors, but it seems that this movie is a little more accessible than some of the director's earlier productions. Enough of his trademark style remains, however, to reassure his supporters. AFTERGLOW is basically a four-pronged character study. The plot is not especially compelling, but the character interaction is, and that's the real reason to see this motion picture. Rudolph has painted an able picture of the non-romantic side of love -- the one that has more to do with tolerance and familiarity than with affection and attraction.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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