Heart of Midnight

'Heart of Midnight' is an unusual, bizarre thriller. Jennifer Jason Leigh, in her trademark weird roles, plays an emotionally disturbed young woman who leaves home after a bout of extreme instability and tries a spat of independence upon inheriting her mysterious uncle's strange nightclub and home. But, cheerful Uncle Fletcher is not quite the endearing relative that the young woman remembers as she discovers more and more things about the house--many rooms designed for some weird sexual fantasies.

After an attempted rape, the young girl alerts the police who become involved in an investigation. Well, actually, one man does. Claiming to be a police detective from internal affairs investigating the death of one of the culprits, killed when fleeing the police who had arrived on the scene. But, the detective is not who he seems, and the young woman's paranoia becomes increasingly more unbearable for her and those who around her. The game of cat and mouse introduces a bizarre psychological thriller, although a doubtful one at that when it seems that the young woman sees hints of another presence in the house, but can't convince others of the same, never having enough evidence to make such claims credible.

The movie is especially bizarre, given the motives of those responsible for bothering the girl. The viewer is given little backstory on the uncle and his strange habits are eluded to only through what evidence the woman also receives. What are all of these rooms for? What was her uncle like? And so forth. Just as the girl's own background is strange, the viewer experience everything with such suspicion and to some extent, revulsion, as she does since we only get as much detail as she does. It is done stylishly so, at least as far as visual efforts, but may be for a certain audience. For those who enjoyed the early 90s noir thriller, Liebstraum, you might enjoy this less sophisticated, but equally odd tale of suspense.

I have seen this movie many times over the years. It's just the right genre of creepy for me, interesting old place the girl inherits full of old clothes, etc., it has that grandma's attic feeling about it. A little Psycho, a little sixties scary-movie feel. Then the psychological twist gets folded in, along with a nice little romance and good acting. This movie is not formulaic overall, when you consider that it's almost impossible to make a scary movie of any kind that hasn't been done before. Sure, familiar elements are there, but even though the setting is modern for the period, it has a bit of a Gothic feel to it. If you like suspense and a creepy plot without the gore, this is for you.

I was surprised to discover this was really a horror film. I don't know if it's labeled that, but that's what it should be called. It's spooky and creepy and just plain weird. With Jennifer Jason Leigh in the lead, I'm not surprised. She is pretty good at playing disturbed people as she showed later in "Single White Female."

For me, however, the best part of this film was the color. This film had a color palette that was fascinating at times. and the audio was good, too, with creepy sounds to go with the colorfully-painted nightclub/house interiors.

Some of the story left a bad taste in my mouth, just a bit too sordid in spots. With the exception of the social worker, there are no likable, trusting characters in this film. The one who is hardest to figure out is the one played by Peter Coyote.

Yet, despite this not being a particularly attractive story, the haunting audio and visuals keep sucking me back every 5-8 years into this bizarre tale.

From the opening scene of Matthew Chapman's Heart of Midnight, we know we are in for a visual tour-de-force. Jennifer Jason Leigh begins a new life in a bizarre, sinister, Lynchesque apartment complex, formerly occupied by her weird uncle, a pervert of sorts, whom Leigh slowly begins to remember.

Writer/director Chapman breathes sinister life into this creepy abode of a building. It seems to take on a life of its own in between the shadows, macabre lighting and ethereal noises that emanate from nowhere.

The film instantly draws us into a dark world where we are never sure what is exactly real and what is a figment of Leigh's imagination. Like any good psychological thriller, circumstances and events are revealed to us slowly, as we need to know them, and always advancing the plot.

More than anything else, the film sustains a brooding, macabre feel that always keeps us feeling uneasy, which seems to mirror Leigh's character. She is excellent here as a woman trying to comes to grips with both her mental illness and a sordid past. The musical score is both eerie, yet powerful, further drawing us into the film's creepiness.

Those who are fans of David Lynch and of movies that create a convincing, yet creepy world of their own, should enjoy Heart of Midnight.

Me, as a fan of Jennifer Jason Leigh couldn't stop seeing this movie and yes, it's surprising the bad reviews since the movie is a living dream that carries you with it and never lets you down. The acting of Miss Leigh is as always excellent and the story is surprising, intriguing and indeed a very interesting piece of mini-art.

All right, it's not maybe your typical thriller movie, but what great movies are that?. The ending is scary and I have printed on my mind the green dress Jennifer Jason Leigh wore as well as the whole movie, although I've only seen it once( ten years ago). What other movies leave such a lasting impression?