After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

An ex-boxer is drifting around after escaping from the mental hospital. He meets a widow who convinces him to help fix up the neglected estate her ex-husband left. Her Uncle talks them both... See full summary »

Director:

James Foley

Writers:

Jim Thompson (novel), Robert Redlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jason Patric	...	Kevin 'kid' Collins
Rocky Giordani	...	Bert
Rachel Ward	...	Fay Anderson
Bruce Dern	...	Garrett "Uncle Bud" Stoker
Tom Wagner	...	Counterman
Mike Hagerty	...	Truck Driver (as Michael G. Hagerty)
James E. Bowen Jr.	...	Second Driver
George Dickerson	...	Doc Goldman
Napoleon Walls	...	Boxing Referee
Corey Carrier	...	Jack
Jeanie Moore	...	Nanny
James Cotton	...	Charlie
Burke Byrnes	...	Cop
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vincent Mazella Jr.	...	Flashback Fighter (as Vince Mazzella Jr.)
Thomas Wagner

Storyline

An ex-boxer is drifting around after escaping from the mental hospital. He meets a widow who convinces him to help fix up the neglected estate her ex-husband left. Her Uncle talks them both into helping kidnap a rich boy for ransom money, and the ex-fighter must make decisions about his loyalties and what is right.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | self sacrifice | tragedy | tragic hero | distrust | 

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Taglines:

Seduced beyond the limits of deception. Betrayed beyond the limits of desire.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Depois do anoitecer, querida

Filming Locations:

Mecca, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,678,414

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avenue Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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Goofs

Early in the film, the person in the emergency room's heart flatlines; asystole or absence of any electrical activity. Shocking or defibrillating will do no good in the absence of cardiac activity. The proper treatment would be to give intracardiac epinephrine, followed appropriately as necessary.

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Quotes

Kevin 'kid' Collins: [voiceover] There's something inside of every man that keeps him going long after he has any reason to. For years I kept going when going didn't seem to make any sense. And now I just had to keep going. I had to have the end come.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 1990 (1991)

User Reviews

Jim Thompson pulp played to perfection.

This is a moody, oblique, adult thriller that seems to bore most of the reviewers so far, making me think that they're all mostly adolescent-type viewers. While not a perfect film noir, AFTER DARK, MY SWEET is a particularly unusual one in that it uses bright atmospherics as opposed to the standard dark ones used to enhance the downward decadence of the material. This picture was made at a time when pulp novelist Thompson was getting a bit of a revival on screen, with a remake of THE GETAWAY and a nifty film version of THE GRIFTERS. The remarkable French film COUP DE TORCHON, also based on a Thompson novel (entitled POP. 1280) uses the same bright noir approach. AFTER DARK, MY SWEET stands admirably along side all these films as a relevant tribute to a writer who often exposed people's dark anxieties with tough, stylish precision! Check out the widescreen Artisan DVD for some nicely done and highly-recommended, adult moviemaking.