Angel Heart (1987) – Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro are young and restless in a Supernatural Murder Mystery

Film Review: Angel Heart (1987)
113 min  -  Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Tagline: In 1955 NYC, PI Harry Angel is hired to find a missing WWII veteran who doesn't want to be found. The investigation takes Angel to New Orleans and the depth of black magic and ultimate evil.
Director: Alan Parker
Writers: William Hjortsberg (novel), Alan Parker (screenplay)
Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet

Angel Heart (1987) – Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro are young and restless in a Supernatural Murder Mystery

In this well designed period film (1955, with multiple flashbacks), Rourke delivers a captivating performance as Harry Angel, private eye. His case starts with the familiar routine of all such tales when a mystery man, Louis Cyphre (played by the indomitable Robert De Niro), hires him to find an old-time musician/WWII veteran who is missing under strange circumstances. Angel’s search, though, takes him from the ordinary to the highly unordinary, from Harlem to New Orleans, from New York music to southern black magic and sweaty white privilege.

Along the way, Angel experiences recurring bloody memories and actual-yet-inexplicable gruesome occurrences that transform him and the movie—on the go!—from private eye to film noir to serial killer mystery to horror and, finally, to supernatural.

In a glowing testament to Alan Parker’s abilities as writer and director, the gradual transformation of Rourke/Angel and his story through all these starkly different genres is achieved without a single jarring moment. It is an almost perfect arch, taken with the subtle transmuting of the visual sights, the surrounding settings, the changing weather, the actors’ outfits and body changes, and most cleverly, the noises that we hear as Angel descends on his painful journey towards the ghastly conclusion of his fateful investigation. It is interesting to note that Parker’s next film was Mississippi Burning, another excellent cinematic expediting to the southern United States of the good old days.

Particularly enchanting is the performance of then 19-years-old Lisa Bonet, who plays 17-years-old Epiphany Proudfoot, a young mother who is the daughter of the missing man. Especially memorable is Bonet’s acting in an explicit sex scene with the almost twice older Rourke, who makes love to a topless Bonet in a rapidly rising ferocity, with flashback images of blood and brutality mixed in with the lovemaking to the point where past and present become indistinguishable.

In summary, Angel Heart is an unsettling film done incredibly well, with excellent acting by Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet and a wonderful supporting cast. The moral and existential questions it raises, while not necessarily answered by the story, are valid and intriguing long after the credits have run their course.

Avraham Azrieli is the author of ten published books, most recently “Deborah Rising” (HarperCollins 2016) a novel portraying the dramatic rise of the first woman to lead a nation in human history. www.AzrieliBooks.com

Film Review: Murder at 1600 (1997): Diane Lane, Alan Alda and Wesley Snipes Mix Good Action with High Concept in a Brew that Aged Well

Murder at 1600 (1997)
107 min  -  Action | Crime | Drama
Tagline: At a time of international incident, the body of a young female staffer is found in a White House wash room. Homicide detective Harlan Regis is called in to
Director: Dwight H. Little (as Dwight Little)
Writers: Wayne Beach, David Hodgin
Stars: Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Alan Alda, Daniel Benzali |

Film Review: Murder at 1600 (1997): Diane Lane, Alan Alda and Wesley Snipes Mix Good Action with High Concept in a Brew that Aged Well

This 1997 movie has benefited from the passage of time. A cast led by two great-looking actors (Snipes and Lane) who give an excellent and credible performance as they go from opponents to collaborators in a plot of high stakes: The U.S. President himself.

The story has all the components of a good thriller: Murder, sex, power, and the threat of war. It builds gradually from an all too common D.C. murder of a young woman—albeit inside the White House—to an investigation that appears easily on its way to an arrest of the murderer, only that the evidence begins to crumble, giving way to a room of mirrors where the good guys become bad, and the patriots become traitors (with good intentions, though.)

Wesley Snipes delivers his best combination of thorny charm, crusty persistence and sweaty violence. Diane Lane is beautiful, even when she gets dirty, which she gradually does as the movie progresses to its violent climax. Alan Alda, as the NSC Chair, is excellent, though he presents a tough case when it comes to suspending disbelieve, unless you are one of those handful of Americans who had not watched M.A.S.H. reruns a million times.

Murder at 1600 is not only good entertainment with a clever, repeatedly surprising plotline, but it raises serious questions about the stability of the presidency, the vulnerability of the president, and the balance of power between the civilian authority and the military, especially in times of perceived threats. This is a very good action movie with a credible high concept that leaves you thinking.

Avraham Azrieli writes novels and screenplays. www.AzrieliBooks.com