Afterglow

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Right from the start there's a wink in Alan Rudolph's dry comedy of sad characters. This film, touted for its Oscar-nominated performance by Julie Christie, is a solid entry for fans of Rudolph's Choose Me and Love at Large. First we meet the amorous Mr. Fix-it, aptly named Lucky Mann (Nick Nolte). Lucky is a big teddy bear who finds joy in construction and womanizing. Nearly every sentence is a smooth entendre or a typical Rudolph witticism. This arrangement seems to be fine with his longtime wife Phyllis (Christie), an ex-B-movie actress who acts as if much of her life is still a bad movie. Lucky's latest client is a young housewife (Lara Flynn Boyle) who also has a muddle of a marriage: Marianne swoons for Lucky's attention, because her husband, Jeffrey (Jonny Lee Miller), has energy for his high-rise business career but little else. Soon Jeffrey espies sad and stunning Phyllis and is on the prowl, unaware that she is Lucky's wife.

Many filmmakers have made statements about the rarity of monogamy but Rudolph is one of the few who finds so much strength in fooling around. He has deep, long answers to why his characters are the way there are, and this leads to scenes that actors relish, even if they don't ring true. Certainly Christie has not had a part this juicy in years, and Nolte, warm and energetic, simply shines. Miller, usually the young ruffian in films such as Trainspotting, gives an intriguing slant to a stuffed shirt. Rudolph has never reached the complexity nor the mastery of his mentor Robert Altman, but he has created his own niche: the comedy of characters usually found in urban dramas. There are laughs in this movie that you simply won't find in the typical Hollywood comedy. Like Altman, he proves that being an independent voice is not about the methods of filmmaking, it's about talent. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

be prepared with a big bottle of sterilizing solution.......2007-03-21

ive done my darnedest to forget this movie i watched 3 months back. despite the presence of nick nolte and julie christie (two actors i usually like) i found this just another piece of alan rudolpf cowardly soft-core porn. i felt dirty after watching it; i feel dirty now.

Nick Nolte, Julie Christie......what more do you want? Or: A Flawed Masterpiece?.......2006-02-25

I don't get giving this film 2 stars. 3, I could understand. 4 is more like it.....

IMO, Nick Nolte is under-rated, & totally nails every role he's ever been in. Julie Christie is a Film Goddess, & I would watch her.....well, if there were a movie of Julie Christie clipping her toenails, I'd watch it over & over. And Lara Flynn Boyle is just as sexy & smart as she was in "Twin Peaks", only more so.

Is the movie perfect? No, but, it's close. If you love kind of off-beat films, or love Julie Christie, you need to see this, & maybe own it.

disappointing.......2005-07-20

I really wanted to like this movie, but, in the end, it just wouldn't let me. The pace was slow but the characters seemed to have interesting possiblilties at first. The actors, as far as I could tell, did a good job with the material they were given. The weakness was in the story. It didn't go anywhere. The characters didn't learn anything. They were no different at the end than the beginning accept one of them was pregnant. The character of Jeffrey was contradictory and hard to believe. He was one minute frigid and almost robotic, then the next sex-crazed over an older woman. He admits to himself that he loves his wife and yet goes out of his way to say something especially cutting to her simply because she wants a baby. He pretends to live on the edge, but is ultra-controlled and lifeless. The other characters were more likable but just as incapable of learning or evolving. So what was the point? Very unsatisfying.

Another reason why Julie Christie should continue to perform.......2002-04-27

Here's Julie Christie more beautiful, more enchanting, sexier than she has been since her role in Doctor Zhivago thirty years ago. She's an ageless wonder, delicate and sweet while also being smart and tough. Her performance as Phyllis Mann, a washed up B-Movie actress is entrancing, so much so that when viewing the film, I found myself ignoring the other actors while she was on screen. I couldn't take my eyes from her for a moment, though that's no slander at her co-stars. Nick Nolte is as watchable and likable as ever as Christie's philandering husband. Lara Flynn Boyle and Johnny Lee Miller have never really been my cup of tea, but perform complex parts with admirable skill. They are a young couple with all the material possessions in the world but separated by an emotional iciness between them. Boyle wants a child while Miller does not, so she turns to handyman Nolte. Miller happens to meet Christie and becomes fascinated by her while she allows herself to be seduced as much out of revenge as curiosity. The film is stylishly directed by Alan Rudolph and I give special credit to cinematographer Toyomichi Kurita for his excellent camera work, though I envy him for getting to stare through his lens every day to see Julie Christie before him. A touching film with fine performances all around, with Christie the standout(yet again).

An smart odd film about Romance........2002-01-15

When a Key Repairman (Nick Nolte) cheats on his Attractive Wife (Julie Chrsitie in a Oscar Nominated Role), a has been actress for a younger woman (Lara Flynn Boyle) but when his wife cheats on a handsome young man (Jonny Lee Miller), who dates the younger woman and the Realationship gets Complicated.

Product Description

France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.66:1), SYNOPSIS: Two families are unhappy with their respective relationships: first of ambitious businessman Jeffrey Byron and sexually frustrated Marianne and second of repair contractor Lucky Mann and former B-movie actress Phyllis. When Lucky arrives to Byron's apartment to make some minor repair and Marianne becomes obsessed with him, the everyday balance breaks. SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu,

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