Stormy Monday - Un lundi trouble

I really enjoyed this movie. I'm a big fan of film, but more than that, I'm a fan of actors. Strong acting, as far as I'm concerned, can redeem even the worst of movies (under the right circumstances) - and it's wonderful when the film itself is already good.

Such is the case with Stormy Monday, the directorial debut of Mike Figgis (who would later have great success with Leaving Las Vegas). The casting seems somewhat unusual, but in the end is quite effective. I have never been a big fan of either Melanie Griffith or Sting, and by contrast, have always enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Bean, so I was unsure of what to expect. But all four impressed me greatly with their performances. This is a film which requires the use of one's senses - we see the hopeful expressions on Griffith's and Bean's faces when they meet for the first time; we hear the frustration in the voice of Jones' crooked businessman when he can't seem to get his way, and the resolve in the voice of Sting's jazz club owner when he refuses to give in to Jones.

The cinematography (by the excellent Roger Deakins) is classic film noir, and when combined with the wonderful jazz soundtrack, creates a moody atmosphere not often seen in 80's cinema. Overall, this is a success - dark, atmospheric, and absorbing, an actor's showcase and a film enthusiast's smorgasbord. There should be more like this one!

Stormy Monday has a fairly routine plot, with a few odd twists to it. What makes it special? Three things.

The atmosphere of the movie makes you feel as if you're having a nice evening out on the town, making your way from pub to pub. You can almost taste the beer, and smell the smoke. Most of the story is shot on location in the old Newcastle city center. If you're in the right mood for something like this, then it's perfect.

Secondly, the characters are interesting and engaging, yet enigmatic. You want to know more about them. None fit the typical Hollywood stereotype. Sting, Sean Bean, Melanie Griffith, and Tommy Lee Jones (a relatively obscure actor then) are all in top form.

Third, if you enjoy jazz, then this is a must-see. In that regard, it is comparable to The Cotton Club, Round Midnight, or Bird. The visiting Polish jazz band reminds me of the struggling young musicians in Leningrad Cowboys Go America. This was clearly made by someone who appreciates good music.

This movie, released in the late 1980s, may be hard to find. But it's worth it.

This is one of those sleeper films, a good one that is not very well- known.....but should be. I really liked this modern-day film noir when I first saw it over a decade ago and the three additional times since.

The movie has all the features of a good noir, most of all a feeling of impending doom throughout, which a good noir exhibits. You know some bad things are going to happen, but you just don't know what and when. That uneasy mood runs throughout the film.

Add some tough characters, great cinematography (nice colors, too, in this case) and even a good blues music score and you have an interesting film. The story here revolves around a ruthless American businessman trying to buy up an entire block of the businesses in one area in Britain.

There's humor in here too with a goofy Polish jazz band, which looked and sounded just awful, and just enough action throughout to keep from getting too talky. Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, Sting and Sean Bean star and all are fascinating to watch.

These days a romantic thriller usually means sex, violence, and lots of neon lights, but underneath the typically sultry mood of this latter-day film noir there's a cool intelligence at work. Writer director Mike Figgis combines several strands of plot which otherwise have little in common, involving a moody nightclub owner, a dangerous American entrepreneur, his part-time mistress, and her new, younger boyfriend, all of them in an industrial British seaport dressed up for a hands-across-the-water civic promotion. A movie so self-absorbed with mood and imagery shouldn't work as well as this, but what sets the film apart from other neo-noir facsimiles is the unusual trans-Atlantic blend of talent and the emphasis on cross-cultural confusion, best expressed by a free-jazz rendition (by the Krakow Jazz Ensemble) of the Star Spangled Banner. The atmospheric visual style isn't enough to camouflage the shortcomings of the script, but Figgis maintains the drama at an admirably low-key level, and the location photography in the city of Newcastle takes excellent advantage of an appropriately gritty urban environment.

A crooked American businessman tries to push the shady influential owner of a nightclub in Newcastle, England to sell him the club. The club's new employee and the American's ex-lover (Melanie Griffith) fall in love and inadvertently stir the pot.

The production was initially a low-budget project funded by Channel 4 and British Screen. When the film attracted American financing, it was suggested that the film be recast with American actors. Both Melanie Griffith's and Tommy Lee Jones' careers were in a dip at the time, and they agreed to take parts at a lower fee. Griffith never fully recovered, though Jones still had bright years ahead of him. Interestingly, some people who auditioned but failed to make the cut were Tim Roth and Kyle MacLachlan. Ultimately, the film was financed for less than $2 million by Atlantic Entertainment Group, perhaps best known for "Valley Girl" or "Night of the Comet". This would be one of their final films.

The DP is the legendary Roger Deakins, who had worked with Figgis on his prior made-for-TV film "The House" (1984). Aside from the bigger names in the cast, it is Deakins who elevates the film from a low-budget independent to the big-looking film it is. The use of neon lighting and visual references to the classic paintings of Edward Hopper are evident. Allegedly, the Coen Brothers made Deakins their regular DP after seeing his work on "Stormy Monday". (As of 2017, Deakins has been nominated for 13 Oscars but has not yet won.)

Figgis is a musician, which explains his inclusion of so many musical situations. A jazz club is central to the plot, but it not just exists in the background... the music is very much an important part of the film, almost a character in itself. The soundtrack is some of the finest jazz and blues, and even the film's title is taken from a T-Bone Walker song, "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which plays over the credits.

Writer-director Mike Figgis continued to make films, though other than "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) and possibly "Internal Affairs" (1990) he has never really been seen as an A-list director. Is it time for critics to start looking at his career again? With this release, cinephiles can get a better handle on a less-celebrated director.

The Arrow Video Blu-ray is not packed, but is comfortably filled with some bonus material. We have a very informative audio commentary with Mike Figgis, moderated by critic Damon Wise. The commentary humorously mentions how Christopher Walken was in the running for the Jones role, but he was too terrifying. There is a new video appreciation by critic Neil Young, including a "then and now" tour of the film's Newcastle locations (33 minutes). This is a must-see, putting the film in the proper context of the geography, time period (including the 1970 corruption trial of mayor T. Dan Smith) and its relation to the Mike Hodges' film "Get Carter" (1971).