First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself
I have read about this film before and it's name came up again recently on a list of top 50 film twists as one of two that I hadn't seen. Already knowing there was some kind of twist really works against you, but the film is still effective and has an admirable tone.
Mickey Rourke gives a great performance as the titular Angel Heart, a noir-ish detective with a thing about chickens. Naturally the majority of the film is spent trying to throw as many chickens in front of him as possible. Can't fault it for that. Hilarious.
Despite the classic cataclysm of good and evil and the noir structure and period setting, the strange mixture of voodoo as well, this feels much more like a late 90's film than a late 80's. Maybe that's just because of when I grew up and loved similar kinds of films that came out around then.
Suffice to say, the story holds up well for me and Heart's decent is kept gradual and mysterious enough to keep one intrigued. I like the abstract flashes and dreamlike interludes. It's obvious something's up, even if you didn't already know there's a twist coming.
While it certainly doesn't go for much of a noir look, it keeps a creepy foreboding tone. It helps that they have a a little haunting melody that keeps re-occuring in amongst the New Orleans jazz scene. Trevor Jones does a good score too.
Well I'm glad I finally got around to watching this one. I'll have to check out the other film from that list I never saw too.
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