Light Sleeper

CinemaSerf7/10

Apr 6, 2024

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Set amongst the high-end drug using fraternity of New York, posh pusher "LeTour" works for "Ann" (Susan Sarandon) and her sidekick "Robert" (David Clennon) seeing to the needs of the rich and decadent. With discretion the key to his success, he makes a decent enough living pandering to their whims - but he has precious little time for his own life. The boat is soon rocked when "Ann" indicates that she may want to jump ship and focus entirely on her legitimate cosmetics business. "LeTour" finds his nose a bit of of joint when he discovers that "Robert" is in on the plan, but he isn't! A change for him might be in order, so he seeks the advice of glorified crystal-ball merchant "Teresa" (Mary Beth Hurt) and that leads to an accidental reunion with his ex "Marianne" (Dana Delany). She's pleased enough to see him, and he'd rekindle things in an heartbeat, but she's a reformed user and he was her supplier. Her brain equates her past with him, and she has no wish to revisit that! With quite a few balls up in the air, "LeTour" has do some serious thinking about his future. Sarandon doesn't really feature enough here for me, which is a shame because when she shares a screen with an on-form Dafoe, the film works well. She's a woman in a man's world; duplicitous, shrewd and ruthless and his persona makes for an excellent extension of her greed and ambition. Dafoe carries that character well with a quick-mouthedness that rings a little true as he navigates a world of the pimped and the procured. There's a bit of humour here, too, and as the will they/won't they romance gathers pace it compliments the little bit of intrigue that creeps into the last half hour and works well. It's not a great film, no, but I did find it flew by and is worth a watch if you ever wonder what ought to have happened to "Crockett" and "Tubbs".