A Paul Schrader film set in the dark and gritty streets of Manhattan should always be a good sign, but rather than feeling like a welcome return to Taxi Driver territory, Light Sleeper feels like an attempted knock-off by an inferior writer and director. On the surface, it has everything it takes to be an instant classic - quality actors, gorgeous cinematography, a tormented and torn protagonist. But it doesn't add up to a coherent and captivating film; the various subplots go nowhere and don't lead to a satisfying conclusion, Dafoe's narration is filled to the brim with clichés of the genre, which doesn't help his character feel any more interesting than it does. The music is awful and feels like it was dragged out of the 80's, and destroys any pretense of a neo-noir atmosphere the film may have. And while Dafoe gives a solid performance, and Susan Sarandon is absolutely terrific playing decisively against type, Dana Delany and Jane Adams didn't work for me and took a lot of credibility away from the film.
Light Sleeper looks and feels like it should a neo-noir with old-fashioned storytelling and character study, which is why I wanted to like it much more than I did; maybe the high expectations are why I ended up disliking it more than it deserves. It's not a terrible movie - just one that should have been great, and is instead utterly forgettable and disposable. I remain a loyal fan of Paul Schrader, Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon, but to me this isn't a high point for any of them.
Light Sleeper looks and feels like it should a neo-noir with old-fashioned storytelling and character study, which is why I wanted to like it much more than I did; maybe the high expectations are why I ended up disliking it more than it deserves. It's not a terrible movie - just one that should have been great, and is instead utterly forgettable and disposable. I remain a loyal fan of Paul Schrader, Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon, but to me this isn't a high point for any of them.