Suggestion by George Tsiaras
The reason why 1980s cinema feels so earnest is that back then, most directors could not even fathom the idea of special effects and computer enhanced photography. Movies were rebelling against the artsy and stylish 1970s and often just features people in silly costumes, going over their lines and overacting themselves into next week, in real-life locations. There was a certain beauty to it that a lot of people miss. ANGEL HEART, adapted from author William Hjortsberg's seminal detective novel FALLING ANGEL, was one of these movie. It's a success for many reasons, but it would have been a success anyway just because it blends so many aspects of 80s cinema in such a fun way.
Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is a private detective hired to find a mysterious crooner named Johnny Favorite, who seems to have vanished twelve years ago. Angel's client Louis Cyphre (Robert de Niro) doesn't care if he's alive or dead, he just wants to know what happened to him. This is not an usual case for Angel, who's usually handling small stuff like divorces and insurance claims. Johnny Favorite had surrounded himself with a lot of creepy people, including a morphine addicted doctor (Michael Higgins), a gypsy fortune teller named Madame Zora (Charlotte Rampling) and a voodoo cult based in New Orleans. Soon, the investigation starts to physically affect Angel and nothing's ever going to be the same for him.
One of the aspects that made William Hjortsberg's novel popular in the first place was the crossover of mystery and horror genres. The occult horror elements in the movie betray the lack of budget, but there's an adorable rawness to it. What makes ANGEL HEART terrifying is that the contact with the occult is based on Harry Angel's observations, so there's very little supernatural flare. Just a lot of blood, and uneasy occurrences such as doors slamming shut, leaking roofs and biological symptoms. Each time ANGEL HEART gets bolder and flashes demonic eyes, it slips out of tone, but otherwise it does a great job at understating horror, in order to help it blend with the mystery.
ANGEL HEART is eerily beautiful at times.
ANGEL HEART is told in such a bare visual fashion, it has to get creative at times, in order to catch the viewer's attention. Of course, it relies on a strong screenplay, but director Alan Parker is aware of the nakedness of his movie and uses locations and subtle photography in order to enhance ANGEL HEART's visual appeal. The Coney Island scenes are the most memorable, but Alan Parker makes the most out of his setting in just about every scene. The New Orleans segments, where Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet) is involved, have this haunting quality to it. ANGEL HEART has a very strong visual paradigm. It may not be the most spectacular, but it's coherent and controlled, aside from a couple overambitious details.
There is nothing more creative than a handful of children playing together in a sandbox. In retrospective, this is what 1980s cinema feels, compared to today's resources. ANGEL HEART is a quintessential throwback movie, because it cannot hide its age, yet it's in no way detrimental to its quality. It might not be the most original mystery or horror movie, but it's a film that knows what it is and that exploits its strength to a maximum, both visually and narratively. Whoever likes genre movies and/or the purity of post-production in movie is going to like ANGEL HEART for that it has an undeniable era charm.