Despite the obvious low budget, the film has an excellent cast. Balthazar Getty, who plays the lead, was in David Lynch's film Lost Highway. People continually call him the poor man's Charlie Sheen but he really does have talent. And yes, Peter Weller was the guy who played Robocop. But forget that. In Shadow Hours, he is suave and convincing as the mysterious writer who is a bit more underground than, say, Bukowski. Rebecca Gayheart is here, too, in what might be the best performance in the film and she plays a woman in this movie, not some whiny high school ditz like in Jawbreaker. And Brad Douriff is, well, Brad Douriff. Peter Greene plays a police detective and is probably the best "tough guy" actor since James Caan or James Cagney. He played Ben Stiller's drug buddy in Permanent Midnight. As far as plot is concerned: Michael (Getty) meets Stuart Chapelle (Weller) while on the night shift at a 24 hour Los Angeles filling station. Stuart befriends Michael and, with Stuart as his guide, Michael is led straight into a private apocalypse with the strange LA underground as a backdrop. Gayheart is Michael's pregnant wife who is understandably concerned. But she never comes off as whiny like all other movie wives. And Greene gets involved because Chapelle may or may not be a murderer.
The thing that really makes this movie special is that the director clearly is a moral person and is making a comment on the evils of society. Like Michael under the fluorescent glare of the Snack Shop, Mr. Eaton the writer and director captured the insanity he saw all around him. The Job speech is a marvel, and not only does it make an interesting comment on the present period but also proved to be quite prophetic in the sense that further on into the 21st Century, morality really degenerated. In some ways an opposite Job situation, people were morally tested, given everything, technology, the pleasures of the flesh, drugs, alcohol, but all it did was serve to darken the hearts of people and cause them to forget God. The music is just wonderful. The director has a great visual style, and is clearly influenced by greats such as Martin Scorsese.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
The thing that really makes this movie special is that the director clearly is a moral person and is making a comment on the evils of society. Like Michael under the fluorescent glare of the Snack Shop, Mr. Eaton the writer and director captured the insanity he saw all around him. The Job speech is a marvel, and not only does it make an interesting comment on the present period but also proved to be quite prophetic in the sense that further on into the 21st Century, morality really degenerated. In some ways an opposite Job situation, people were morally tested, given everything, technology, the pleasures of the flesh, drugs, alcohol, but all it did was serve to darken the hearts of people and cause them to forget God. The music is just wonderful. The director has a great visual style, and is clearly influenced by greats such as Martin Scorsese.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10.