Angel Heart : Aux portes de l'enfer

P.I Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite, only it isn't a straight forward missing person's case. Prefect, grounded, Alan's Parker's voodoo-laden, hard-boiled film is the ultimate mystery film.

This is without a doubt Mickey Rourke's finest role. The supporting cast deliver some of the most interesting and story driven performances which include Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet and Charlotte Rampling to name a few.

You can feel 1955's New Orleans warm rain, hear the jazz, taste the grit of 1950's Brooklyn, Michael Seresin's cinematography is amazing. The films realism captures the time wholly, Trevor Jones mystery music builds up the tension as murders increase and Harry Angel is drawn into eventful dangerous meetings. The dialogue is flawless and the ending has a mind-blowing twist that has been imitated but never surpassed. The Johnny Favourite theme tune will linger with you long after the end credits.

A timeless, eerie and realistic atmospheric classic. Perfect.

"Angel Heart" deserves to be considered Alan Parker's masterpiece. The direction is truly amazing, as Parker drives us deeply through a meticulously prepared dark atmosphere, full of allegories and secret hints.

In "Angel Heart", we watch Mickey Rourke in his finest acting hour, who plays Harry Angel, a private investigator hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre, depicted by the great Robert De Niro. Cyphre assigns Angel the task to find a guy named Johnny Favorite who has disappeared, with whom he has unsettled debts. The task is much harder than it first looks however, as Angel bumps into several murders in the process; and as if that were not enough, the quest makes him realize some very unpleasant truths about himself and Mr. Cyphre.

As noted before, both Rourke and De Niro are excellent in their roles; a high mark goes for the rest of the cast as well, with Lisa Bonnet standing out as charming and apocryphal Epiphany Proudfoot. Yet, the 10/10 mark for this film is definitely credited to Alan Parker's direction: It is his masterpiece.

I'm not in the least surprised that other reviewers either love this or hate it to bits - I also bet that it's the younger users to whom the nature of the visual narrative of the film - the way it's all told to us, the viewer - may seem a bit dated. And to a point, they're right - "Angel Heart" is totally an eighties film, a film of the decade in which the movie world was discovering a new visual language in video and playfully indulged in experimenting with its new toy. It was literally speaking to a generation straight out of MTV classrooms and workshops and is in that sense very similar to stuff like "Betty Blue". And true enough, there is a lot to remark on what can today be seen as a slightly poseur-ish "one too many revolving fans, angularly lit staircases and heartbeat sounds in the soundtrack" kind of thing. However, "Angel Heart" does carry a tremendous amount of energy thanks to its imagery, which will stick to the viewer's mind in exactly the same way a sweaty shirt sticks to the body in sticky weather. Besides, the impeccably drawn cast led by Rourke does a truly remarkable job - that's beyond question - the sets are great, production design and cinematography are very evocative, the soundtrack is memorable and the story is one of the crucial ones. I personally love it.

Give it a go by all means.

"Angel Heart" is a true standout film among director Alan Parkers' filmography: a seedy, depressing, disturbing, provocative, and mesmerizing mystery with all the creepy imagery one could hope for. It begins on a very ominous note and remains gripping all the way through its serpentine story. Mickey Rourke, in one of his very best performances, stars as Harry Angel, low rent NYC private eye hired by mysterious Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro, who's fantastic) to locate a vanished crooner named Johnny Favourite. His search leads him from NYC to New Orleans, and with the story (based on the novel "Falling Angel" by William Hjortsberg) taking place in the mid-1950s, that merely adds to the overpowering atmosphere. Along the way, the dead bodies start piling up, and Harry finds things just getting more and more gloomy as his search moves inexorably towards its devastating conclusion. I think that a key to this films' success is that it *can* work even for the viewer who knows the major revelations beforehand, or guesses at them early on. It's the gravitas that Parker and his fine cast brings to the proceedings that make it so compulsively watchable. Also appearing are Charlotte Rampling, beautiful as ever, in the role of black magic practitioner Margaret, and the stunning Lisa Bonet, who's memorable in the role of young mother Epiphany. Familiar faces in smaller roles include Pruitt Taylor Vince, as a detective (he acted again for Parker in "Mississippi Burning"), Kathleen Wilhoite, as a nurse, Michael Higgins as a drug-addicted doctor, musician Brownie McGhee as Toots Sweet, and Dann Florek ('Law & Order: SVU') as an attorney. As this story plays out, one just knows that whatever Harry finds out, it won't be pleasant, and the dark tone extends to the memorable sex scene, which is erotic and creepy in equal measure. The music score by Trevor Jones is suitably eerie and there's a serving of blues music that is irresistible, adding to the overall experience. In the end there's a strong message about the nature of living a lie, and the final confrontation between two characters is brilliantly subtle, depending on acting rather than spectacle or much in the way of cheese. This represents a solid effort from all concerned. Eight out of 10.

Such an impressive movie, if like me you're a fan of noir, or neo noir, then you will absolutely love this movie.

The first thing you will be struck by is the appearance of the film, it is a visual masterpiece, the attention to detail is flawless, you could actually turn the colour off, and imagine this being made in 1955.

Secondly, the atmosphere, smoke filled rooms, the clothes, music, accents, just awesome to behold, they got the tone spot on.

It's a great story, it takes a few moments for you to know what's happening, and get the direction, but you will.

Finally the acting, Rourke is at his absolute best, one of the best films I've seen him in, he is tremendous, it's so nice to see him in his handsome pre surgery years. De Niro, what can you say, he's just incredible.

Captivating, 9/10.