The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995)

I am not sure if this is as good as the 'Reflective Skin' (Amazing film!), but it is definitely very close. Philip Ridley is a brilliant director. He is a true visionary and he managed to get three of the best performances from three of the best actors in Hollywood @ the time i.e. Brendan Frasier, Ashley Judd, and Viggo Mortensen. Very cool movie. Unique, and interesting. It's kind of long, but still extremely weird, and cool, and totally worth the watch.

The stars of Philip Ridley's masterful, dark drama are all known for bigger things, but to this reviewer's mind at least, they're never better than they are here. Made in 1995, the film boasts impressive turns from Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd, Viggo Mortensen and Grace Zabriskie, and yet it remains almost unheard-of to this date. This is a genuine shame. Writer-director Ridley has crafted a pitch-perfect character study portraying the conflict between the immovable object of religion and the unstoppable force of sexuality. Darkly Noon (Fraser) is a young, naive man who escaped a massacre at the strict religious commune in which he grew up. Lost deep within the forest in Southern America, he's taken in by the beautiful Callie (Judd) and her mute lover Clay (Mortensen). Experiencing lust and envy for possibly the first time, he finds disturbed widow Roxy (Zabriskie), who helps him lay the blame for these alien emotions with his unwitting seductress. With some stunning cinematography and innovative editing techniques, Ridley increasingly introduces elements of fantasy as Darkly gradually slips into insanity, helping us follow his journey. A tense piece of work, the days are counted until we're told "Final Day" - the sequence of events comes as no surprise, but that doesn't lessen the impact whatsoever; rather it provides a ticking clock that adds to the unease.

The Passion of Darkly Noon is an extremely difficult film to describe. For one thing, it doesn't strictly fit any genre, mixing in elements of everything from fantasy to erotica, from thriller to horror. For another, it unfolds in a strange, unconventional and often bewildering fashion. The performances of Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd and Viggo Mortensen are pretty good, considering that the material they are working with is generally mediocre.The story finds stranger Darkly Noon (Fraser) being found half-dead in the dense forest near to an isolated cabin owned by young lovers Judd and Mortensen. They bring Darkly Noon back to their home and nurse him to health, but he seems to take an unhealthy liking to Judd, participating in all kinds of voyeuristic activities (such as masturbating aggressively whilst spying on her through a peep-hole).The film spends an inordinate amount of time trying to create an oppressive atmosphere. It takes place during an unbearably hot summer, much of the action occurs in an impossibly dense wood, and other scenes take place in claustrophobic nearby caves. Clearly the director wants you to feel and experience the oppressive atmosphere as if you are really there. But although this comes across all too clearly, in spending so much effort setting up the atmosphere the film loses out in other significant areas. The characters and the plot don't evolve in any interesting way and remain disappointingly shallow all the way to the end. The action is separated by long, tedious stretches during which nothing much actually happens. The sexual tension supposedly running through the film is frequently neglected in favour of visual flourishes and yet more atmospherics.The Passion of Darkly Noon may interest those who like the slow-burning Twin Peaks style of drama. As for others, it is not likely to be a memorable experience.

Brendan Fraser is incredible adept at choosing horrible movies tostar in, and this one is no exception. From beginning to end, thecharacters live in a totally unbelievable world. This is one of thosemovies that is meant to be completely serious, but causes onlyhoots of laughter from movie-goers. This was hands-down one ofthe 5 worst movies I have ever seen.Brendan Fraser and Ashley Judd do what they can with the terribleroles they were given, but I will never understand how they werecoerced into making such a film.