Light Sleeper is a kind of hybrid of several decades of film stylism. It has something of that 1970’s, Sidney Lumet grittiness about it – indeed, I thought it captured early 90’s New York City in a very vivid and real way. The film is rife with 80’s style – the clothes, the mannerisms, the way everybody is talking. And from the 90’s it anticipates the films of the Indie Renaissance, particularly the gentle, flowing rhythm of those films and the way they used musical scoring and narration. These styles gel fairly well into a consistently engaging human drama about a 38-year-old drug delivery guy who is having second thoughts about his life.

As I was recounting this film for my wife, I realized what a nicely written little piece of work it is. Dafoe’s life crisis is set against multiple storylines: his employer’s plan to close her drug business and try to break into cosmetics, his chance reuniting with the old love of his life (from his “using” past,) and a creeping murder mystery which seems almost irrelevant at the beginning but slowly begins to gain significance as the plot unfurls. Each of these stories are gracefully developed in an unhurried way, using a lot of good dialog and well-structured scenes, and in addition to being interesting in their own right they in concert paint a lovely picture of the psychology and emotions of the lead character.

Willem Dafoe is wonderful playing a genuinely nice guy. I found myself wishing he had played more roles like this. He makes his character likeable despite the character’s many flaws, and he glues the film together effectively with his skill and charisma. I might add that he also does a fantastic job delivering the film’s narration, which is of the (rare) variety that I approve of:  well written and used only for emotional and psychological texture, not as a substitute for dialog!

I am not the biggest Susan Sarandon fan, but I liked her in this film. Dana Delaney was great as the long lost love, and Jane Adams (talk about an actress that never got her due!) is very warm and memorable as Delaney’s sister – Adam’s performance is a great example of making a nothing role come alive in a film by sheer acting skill. All the incidental casting and performances are very strong and convincing.

I would not call Light Sleeper great, but it is solidly good, and a fine example of the kind of subtle-yet-unambiguous film making you don’t see much anymore nowadays. If you are finding yourself getting sick of today’s mindlessly violent films with no story and no dialog, and today’s indie postmodern downer dramas, check out Light Sleeper and marvel at how good even B-films used to be, back in the good ole days. It streams on Netflix, so there’s no reason not to!