After Dark, My Sweet

Kevin Collins is a former boxer; after killing a man in the ring he was committed and has walked out of the institution. In a bar in the desert he meets Fay. She takes him home. Then Bud, whom Fay knows, turns up with a plan: abduct a rich boy and collect the ransom. Kevin's job is to look after the child. The subject is not crime but everyone taking Kevin for a fool. He speaks slowly and seems vague; both Fay and Bud find him usable. Kevin understands what is happening better than either of them, and the decision at the end proves it. The form is hot and empty: desert, a trailer, dust. The palette is bleached and there are almost no night scenes; it builds noir in daylight. The source is a novel by Jim Thompson. His books were long considered unadaptable because their narrators are unreliable and the interior voice is the narration; this film carries that voice as voice-over and is counted among the most faithful Thompson adaptations. James Foley directs. Jason Patric plays Kevin, Rachel Ward plays Fay and Bruce Dern plays Bud. Who it is for: viewers who like modern noir and slowly built tension. Who it is not for: anyone wanting pace; for long stretches the film does almost nothing and keeps its tension inside the conversations.