Black Day Blue Night (1995)

Excellent adaptation.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Though "Black Day Blue Night" is not on a par with "Breakdown" or "Red Rock West", it does have another fine performance by J.T. Walsh, so for his admirers, this is a must see. Like "Red Rock West", "Black Day Blue Night" is a twisted modern noir, with plenty of guitar strums further enhancing some similarity between the two films. There is ample nudity, gorgeous desert locations, and a story that under close scrutiny, doesn't always make a whole lot of sense. Scenes move rapidly, then stand motionless for gratuitous nudity, finally starting up again. Character development of the four main players is quite good, and if you can overlook some minor faults, you will not be disappointed. - MERK

This neo-film noir is one of a genre of late twentieth century American films that all seem to involve corrupt characters, fast cars, a ribbon of highway and, of course, plenty of guns wielded by people who appear never to have taken a gun safety course. The actors are the best reason to see "Black Day, Blue Night." There is the late, great J.T. Walsh ("Swing Blade," "Pleasantville," "Red Rock West," "The Last Seduction," and many more), who did many neo-films noirs (See also "Breakdown"). Then there is Michele Forbes of the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Homicide." (In a supporting role, there is even the late Bejamin Lum who also appeared on a Star Trek episode titled "The Naked Now.") A spoiler of sorts--a clue really: Only the most innocent survive, but innocence is a very relative term in a movie like this, and you probably won't guess who is innocent before the final reel.

Black Day Blue Night was actually good modern noir. Three young nomads on the run from their own lives team up on something of a road trip through a desert in the middle of nowhere (as most modern noir does). One woman finds that her husband is cheating on her, and after finding him in a hotel room, decides to head off and start anew. Strangely enough, she travels with her husband's mistress, who is forgiveable given that the sleazebag never told her he was married. And together, while driving in the pouring rain, they meet a third, very mysterious young man with a suitcase full of secrets. While they're giddy and free and all suspicious of one another, the cops back at town have them marked as suspects in the death of a policeman. Black Day Blue Night starts out with immediate confrontation, and throws in a pretty good story with all it's twists meant to mislead your suspicions of one character after another, leading to a very unusual ending. That is, the movie starts with immediate action confrontation, and once you think the story is solved, you are immediately thrust into yet another turn in the plot, revealing just a little more than you expected before the movie is over. But, as some viewers have written, the ending is slightly confusing and a bit of a let down. The killer is not who you would immediately expect and, once revealed, becomes somewhat confusing due to a rather thinly explained flashback which reveals all of the necessary motive to solve the mystery. But actually, there is a finale beyond that, which I would think is the most interesting of the film. Because modern noir always involves a circle of criminal suspects, almost always all of them guilty of something, it is also a genre that always involves money. And thus the question in these movies always becomes --how far are the characters willing to go for money?If you like this rendition of modern film noir, I would suggest watching Red Rock West (it's also got J.T. Walsh and some going-ons in the blasted desert)!

This is one of those fun entertaining thrillers. I don't want to give anything away but if your in the mood this is one of those rare gems that no one has seen. Great plot twists, Great surprises. This one will keep you guessing. Mia Sara and Michelle Forbes are awesome!