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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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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.

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Quotes

John: [Writing in a notebook] I feel my life turning. All it needed was a direction. You drift from day to day, years go by. Then a change comes. I am able to change. I can be a good person. What a strange thing to happen, halfway through your life. What luck.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: American Cinema of the 70s (2011)

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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

Just watched it after years of searching

About 10yrs ago I became aware of this movie and, as a result of the Last Temptation of Christ, I was already very curious about Willem Dafoe's other roles. I have occasionally looked for copies of this movie in small town rental stores and discount bins to no avail.

I finally broke down and bought Light Sleeper on DVD and I am very happy I did. This is one of Dafoe's better roles -- his performance is almost always very good, but let's face it, he's taken on a few weak roles in the past: "Clear and Present Danger" springs to mind here. Not much script to work with.

But then there's Affliction (same screenwriter as Light Sleeper), LTofC, Platoon (an over-dramatic production, IMHO), Triumph of the Spirit, To Live and Die in L.A. (good fun for Michael Mann and William Peterson fans)...so that's why I finally bought this DVD.

Anyways, I think Willem Dafoe's performance was comparable to Triumph of the Spirit, as was the script and production. Susan Sarandon was a pleasant surprise - I thought she might bring the movie down by being too dramatic or "sex kitteny", but this is right around the period she began to play the role of a woman and not a girl.

As far as Michael Been's songs in the soundtrack are concerned: I'm a modest fan of "The Call" and I rather enjoyed the soundtrack. It is a movie of its time in that the songs are featured more prominently in the mixing level and duration than one would expect of today.

I found the story compelling: I cared what happened to the characters next. In my opinion, if a movie can't do that it's wasting precious minutes of my life. I donate exceptional movie DVDs to our local (small town) library collection, and this will be one of them.