The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Brendan Fraser plays the role of a man who has lived under the severe guidance of hyper-religious parents. We slowly get to see him degenerate from a stiff, proper, 'perfect' Christian to a lustful, sexual being, and then into a person who has lost touch with reality completely.The object of his passion is Callie. She tempts him, almost tauntingly, but at the same time obliviously. Her boyfriend, Clay, is played by Viggo Mortensen, in what I suspect is his only NON speaking role.Viggo plays the role of a mute convincingly, showing us another dimension of talent. He uses body language, exaggerated gestures common to the mute, facial expressions, and a couple vocalisations in form of whistles and clicks, or rapping on an object. The vocalisations serve both as attention getters and exclamations to make a point.At the end, after a fight with Darkly (Lee), Viggo's facial expression is the most menacing I have ever seen--and that includes his role in the recent 'History of Violence' Lee meets up with Roxy, part way through. We find out that she is Clay's mum, and holds a grudge against Callie, claiming she is a witch who ruined her family when she was brought into the household much the same way Lee was--an injured stranger.Roxy is so convincing that I honestly expected to find out that Callie truly was a witch (in fact, I'm still not convinced that she ISN'T). Roxy's opinions don't help Lee's sanity any, and in the end, after a discussion with his dead parents, he totally loses it, and sets off to destroy the witch.I was honestly confused by the ending, and am going to have to re-watch it to see if I get it again.In regards to technical aspects-the music was perfectly selected and placed. There were a few instances where the camera used jerky, quick shots, changing angles or scenes (cutting back and forth from Lee to Callie or Clay, e.g.). It was perfectly done-other producers have tried those shots, but I usually end up feeling physically ill from the quick changes. These were just breathtaking.

ATTENTION, POTENTIAL VIEWERS! Some possible SPOILERS follow:Philip Ridley has produced a genuinely poetic yet nightmarish piece in Passion of Darkly Noon. The setting of the film forms perhaps its central part. An almost never-never land in the middle of the lush impenetrable forest. A light cabin with a beautiful and sensual Callie (Ashley Judd) living there day and night and communicating with the primal forces of nature (rain, storm, caves, thickets, springs, etc.) The viewer cannot help but feel inundated by the intensity with which the forces of nature are brought together into a single bundle of some primordial virginity. Darkly (Brendan Frasier) is brought into the "eye of the storm" to be cared for and nurtured back into health. Striking a pose of seductive nymph, Callie unsuspectingly (or maybe not) stirs Darkly's (who is extremely inhibited and repressed) sexual passions. They proceed to escalate uncontrollably. Initially, Darkly is torn by conflicting internal thoughts about how to react to Callie and how to understand his own emotions and urges. Progressively, his "demonic" side takes the upper hand: his "misgivings" about Callie are validated by the nearly insane Roxy (Callie's mother-in-law) who lives as a forest hermit nearby. The end is as frightening as it is purifying and tension-relieving. The film is full of mysterious symbolism and is uncharacteristically replete with ambiguities which remain unsolved throughout. My personal opinion is that this movie should be understood as a fable, a tale of sorts. In a sense, all this happens inside the Darkly's mind and soul. All other images in the film are just the external projections of Darkly's intense internal struggles, his PASSIONS. In terms of its atmosphere, Passion of Darkly Noon has a great deal in common with Maurice Maeterlinck's play Pelleas and Mellisanda (see the beautiful and otherworldly music by Claude Debussy). This movie is truly enchanted and enchanting. Could be watched many, many times for this quality alone. One of the best in its genre. See another Philip Ridley's movie Reflecting Skin -- equally bizarre, stunning atmospherics, wonderfully disturbing yet beautiful imagery.

The weirdly named Darkly Noon (Brendan Frasier) is the sole survivor of a Waco-style massacre and a religious fanatic. He is taken in by Ashley Judd, who lives in a isolated cabin in a huge forest. The first set of tensions come when Noon's strong attraction towards Judd clash with his religious beliefs. The second arise when Judd's mute boyfriend Viggo Mortensen returns. And then hermit Grace Zabriskie befriends Noon and tells him Judd is a witch. This is pretty impressive stuff from writer and director Philip Ridley. He's not afraid to risk being pretentious and, in truth, he is at times. Mostly, though, he creates an unsettling, powerful piece with the texture of a nightmare. Surreal at times (a giant, glittering boot floating down a river?) it conveys the powerful and enigmatic nature of both human emotions and the unexplored forest. It's clear that things are going to end bloody but, crucially, you can't guess for who; because at times it seems the coquettish Judd might be a witch.

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.