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Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Dann Florek,
Writer/director Alan Parker took William Hjortsberg’s novel and turned it into a very good Film Noire mystery/suspense screenplay. Mickey Rourke was at the top of his game when this film came out and did a superb job. Robert De Niro didn’t seem as comfortable with his role, but was still very good, of course (he is Robert De Niro!). The story plays out like a darker version of Chinatown, and has plenty of gritty (and often gory) action and very strong visual appeal.
The story is set in 1955 and Mickey Rourke is a grimy, but streetwise, NYC P.I., named Harry Angel, who is approached by a wealthy and mysterious client (as they always are in Film Noire) named Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro). Mr Cyphre is looking for a charming crooner named Johnny Favorite, who has been missing for over ten years and is rumored to be dead. Harry is a skilled P.I., however and has soon tracked Mr. Favorite’s stone cold trial to the mean streets of New Orleans, where he finds himself running into a strange Voodoo cult and a smokingly-sexy, and mysterious, Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet, looking like she never did on the Cosby show!). Everything is shrouded in mystery, and it doesn’t help that everyone Angel talks to seems to end up dead.
This got attention upon release for its controversial depiction of the Voodoo religion and for its strong scenes that some found objectionable. For fans of movies like Chinatown, Body Heat, Basic Instinct and a million others, this is a must-see and a should-own.
