Light Sleeper (1992)

A drug dealer reconsiders his profession when his boss plans to go straight and an old flame reappears.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Stars:

Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Willem Dafoe	...	John LeTour
Susan Sarandon	...	Ann
Dana Delany	...	Marianne
David Clennon	...	Robert
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Teresa
Victor Garber	...	Tis
Jane Adams	...	Randi
Paul Jabara	...	Eddie
Robert Cicchini	...	Guidone
Sam Rockwell	...	Jealous
Rene Rivera	...	Manuel
David Spade	...	Theological Cokehead
Steven Posen	...	Hasid
Ken Ladd	...	Carlos
Brian Judge	...	Thomas

Storyline

A drug dealer with upscale clientele is having moral problems going about his daily deliveries. A reformed addict, he has never gotten over the wife that left him, and the couple that use him for deliveries worry about his mental well-being and his effectiveness at his job. Meanwhile someone is killing women in apparently drug-related incidents.

---

Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | male nudity | jail | shootout | hotel | 

---

Taglines:

He was a good man in a deadly business. She was his only way out.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and drug content, and for violence and a scene of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Könnyű altató

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,050,861

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures,Grain of Sand Productions,Live Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Paul Schrader actually sent Willem Dafoe out to observe deals with a real drug dealer as training for this role. When Schrader asked Dafoe if anybody recognized him, Dafoe said he believed some did, but that they were afraid they would not get their drugs if they said anything.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
Tis: What a nightmare!

---

Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Mad Dog and Glory/El Mariachi/Rich in Love/The Last Days of Chez Nous (1993)

---

Soundtracks

24-7-365
(Agami / Belmaati / Christiansen / Moller)
© 1991 Megasong Publishing, Denmark
Performed by Wizdom-N-Motion
Courtesy of Mega Records, Denmark © 1991

User Reviews

They made a great movie, and no one came.

Like "Prince Of The City", this is another great drug movie, with the greatest set ever built for a movie, New York City. Very few people saw "Prince", and I'll wager fewer saw this one. It has a cast of New York stage actors, who make the usual run of Hollywood anorexic barbie dolls, and Sunset Strip would be tough guys, look exactly like what they are, refugees from some "hysterical" wise cracking sit-com. I have to mention each one of these artists because they're so incredibly good. Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany (what a performance), David Clennon, Mary Beth Hurt, Jane Adams(the looney sister from "Happiness"), David Spade, and last, but certainly not least Victor Garber. Paul Schrader wrote and directed, and if he never does another production, his mother can know that she gave birth to a major cinematic artist. The story can impress people as very hokey. Dafoe is a coke pusher. But he's very sensitive and loving, and is looking for a "better life". He's so guilt ridden as a pusher, he can hardly sleep. Oh, give me a break. But wait. With Dafoe I bought it completely. I was even rooting for him to get back with his former junkie lover Dana Delany. Delany and Susan Sarandon give major performances, Sarandon as a major supplier also looking to go straight as a cosmetic maven. This is a major manual on acting....look, learn, and enjoy.