Review of Light Sleeper by Schrader

I thought this film was really good. It seemed to be in the wake of the hyper 80's. I think Susan Surandon's character really brings that theme out. She is transitioning to a legit career in cosmetics and finding her way out of dealing drugs. The good times have passed. It's time for her to move on. The excess of the 80's; the cocaine, the easy money, the basquiat- style paintings, the refferences to Wall Street types, in Light Sleeper these cultural characteristics all seem to be in decline. Yet, Schrader's ability is not. It is a very tightly constructed film with a great performance from Willem Defoe.

The film omits several scenes from the screenplay. There is one scene where Defoe goes to his fellow dealer's apartment that is cut. Otherwise it follows the script which is written more as a novel than a screenplay. There are no act headings, only what could be called chapter headings such as "shootout" or something of that nature. The script is well done. The action builds up nicely. I totally didn't see it coming that Defoe's ex-wife would relapse and be murdered. That was a big plot twist. I also liked the character of Victor Garber. The fake German accent and tacky clothes really made me consider him with antipathy.

The film does get a little tacky itself. It reflects on New York a little too much. The shots of the car taking Defoe to his next deal are rather dull and uninspired. I suppose there needs to be peaks and troughs in the action, but I was bored. I did like the voice over and reflections of Defoe's character. There is not too many films who show a small time dealer with the humanity that Schrader does in this film. I would have liked to see where Defoe's life goes after prison.

 And I think Schrader did a very good job. The film checks in at about 100 minutes, not too long, but not too much like TV. He also used the pick pocket ending, like he did in American Gigolo which is so uninspired. Yet it still works. We see Defoe and Surandon becoming intimate, both clean and legit, clearly healing from the 80's excess that they were seeking to break free from.