Afterglow (1997)

Powerful

Good concept, poorly executed.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I only give it a 2 instead of a 1 because Julie Christie is always such a joy to watch.The problem is, you can't figure out what is going on much of the time. Plot lines seem to make no sense. Example: at the end, Christie is crying. Has her daughter died or not? That is never made clear. If not, what is she sobbing about? Then there is the scene where Christie tries to seduce husband Nolte. She is attempting to repair their marriage. It is not clear why he rejects her, he seems to love her and it was she who had called off their sex life, not he. There is no discussion of this event afterward to clarify things.Characters throughout behave in ways that seem very unlikely and you can't figure them out. If a movie is going to be this surreal and confusing, it should be funny or suspenseful. This is neither. The Jonny Lee Miller character is peculiar beyond belief and that is never resolved. You can't figure him out at all,even at the end.Enough said, avoid this movie. You can see Christie in Away from Her, a far superior film.

*** Caution --- Contains spoilers *** This film had potential; the beautiful and talented Julie Christie and the not-so-beautiful but talented Nick Nolte as husband and wife in a sexless marriage, where the partners have agreed that handyman Lucky (Nolte) can have "no-strings-attached" affairs (as if such a thing is possible). Jonny Lee Miller and Laura Flynn Boyle play the younger couple with a similar loveless/sexless (?) relationship. They are both easy on the eyes, but their acting talents pale in comparison to their looks and to the talents of Christie and Nolte.Amazingly, these two couples end up with each others' spouses when they decide to have an affair. I mean, what are the odds of that? (That's sarcasm, in case it's not clear from my tone of voice, ha-ha…) There is a subplot with a coworker of the Miller character coming out of the closet, with the implication that the husband might be a repressed homosexual. There's a nice scene where the coworker comes to tell Miller that he is leaving the company. As he leaves the hotel through the revolving door, Phyllis (Christie) arrives in the next section of the door, making a visual metaphor to "swinging both ways" (Sorry, I couldn't resist.).Jonny Lee Miller impressed me with his acting ability here, compared to some of his earlier films, say Hackers, for example. However, I can't help but think how a few casting changes might have improved this movie. Peter Sarsgaard for Miller, and Kris Kristofferson for Nolte. LFB is easily the worst actor in this movie; almost anyone would be an improvement. She may improve with age or experience, but she was miscast in this movie.I enjoyed many of the visual elements of this movie. Christie and Nolte are talented and give good performances here; Christie, Miller, and LFB are easy on the eyes, as are the apartment sets, and some of the outdoor scenes. The movie as a whole, however, demands far too much "willing suspension of disbelief", even if you take it as a fantasy. There are better ways to spend your money; but, if you are sitting at home with nothing to do some day and this movie comes to cable, you might give it a try. That's what I did. Not sorry I saw it, but it's not worth seeing again, or buying the DVD, or seeing it in a theater. It's just OK - 4/10 stars.-- Gray Thomas, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

I saw the movie for a second time, 5 years after the first viewing, and realized that this is not a movie to view casually on a tired evening. My initial assessment was that Julie Christie and Nick Nolte were arresting in a movie with some clever camera-work by Toyomichi Kurita assisted with some interesting music by Mark Isham. Period.The second, more-attentive viewing allowed me to savor the intelligent script and unusual direction of Alan Rudolph. The script is remarkably close to Edward Albee's "Who's afraid of Viginia Woolf"—-both have two sets of couples, each set a generation apart, the older one ruing the loss of a child.Rudolph presents a script on sex without sex though peppered with wit that could make Noel Coward pale in comparison. For example: "I'm Jeffrey Byron III. There won't be a IV. We Byrons quit when we get it right." Or "I did notice your wedding ring!" And the response "It's removable!" The wit is not obvious—I missed much of it on the first casual viewing—unlike the name of the lead character "Lucky Mann," married to an attractive actress who is can be acerbic with her very attractive aging handyman husband as she smirks "How was work today, Lucky? Unclog a few tubes?" The film is not propped up by the Shawian script alone (interestingly Director Robert Altman is the producer), but Director Rudolph extracts fascinating performance from top four actors who are thoroughly believable. The anguished cry of Julie Christie is the key to the film that transforms Rudolph's script from clever humor to mature tragedy. It is this cry that makes you reevaluate the entire film, why Jeffery (Jonny Lee Miller) balances on roof edges, why Phyllis' (the mesmerizing Julie Christie) "soul needs an overhaul", and why Rudolph allows Kurita to make his camera do a cartwheel at several points in the film. Clever, Mr Rudolph, but how many will have the patience to savor it all.Finally, Rudolph has successfully brought out the incredible charm of Julie Christie and the potential of Nick Nolte as actors. It is a pity Christie missed a second Academy Award!

I saw this movie and very thoroughly enjoyed it. No, it was not realistic, no, it was not stellar acting, or serious story. It was exactly what it bills itself to be, a romance-comedy. This movie is good escapism. If you need a smile, or just to sit back and relax without getting all overly engrossed in a movie, this is a good one to pick.