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

When Collie opens the door at 24:04, sunny green outdoor foliage is visible through the doorway, yet in the next shot, Collie is just proceeding into another room of the house.

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Quotes

Kevin 'kid' Collins: [voiceover] When a man stops caring what happens, all the strain is lifted from him. Suspicion and worry and fear, all things that twist his thinking out of focus are brushed aside, and he can see people exactly as they are at last - as I saw Fay then: weak and frightened but basically as good as a person could be and hating herself for not being better. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered was that she live, it was the only way my having lived would make any sense. It was why I had been made ...

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Rookie/Berkeley in the Sixties/Edward Scissorhands/The Grifters (1990)

User Reviews

a near-flawless adaptation

The first of two Jim Thompson adaptations released in 1990 (the other being the more well-known GRIFTERS), AFTER DARK has all of Thompson's hallmarks: dangerous women, the confidence game, and characters that are either not as dim as others suspect them of being, or not as harmless.

Jason Patric is superb as a former boxer disqualified from the sport for life due to an incident in the ring (director James Foley uses RAGING BULL-esquire sequences to flesh out the back story) and the too-little-seen Rachel Ward also delivers a great performance. But Bruce Dern is the film's secret weapon: his sweet-talking grifter Uncle Bud subtly commands each of his scenes.

there's almost no comic relief in this film, so watch it prepared to be sucked into the void.