The Morning After

Starring: Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Raul Julia, Diane Salinger, Kathy Bates
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Rating: R
Genre: Thriller
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An actress (Jane Fonda) wakes up to find a dead body in her bed, with no memory of what happened. She teams up with an ex-cop (Jeff Bridges) to try and figure out what happened.

Review:

Tim: This is an odd movie to try to figure out. The cast is very good, they have an excellent director in Sidney Lumet, and the plot is at least interesting and engaging (for awhile). However, the movie doesn't work nearly as well as it should, and therefore, it can't be thought of anything but a disappointment.

The concept is interesting. An alcoholic, has-been actress wakes up to find a man murdered in her bed. This sets up all kinds of questions. Did she do it? Was she framed? Did he do it himself? (okay, maybe only I asked this last question). The search for these answers keeps us interested at least for a little while. By the time we find the answers, we can't help but feel let down, as the movie seriously falters near the end.

The film's troubles are many. The script seems like it must have been atrocious. There are serious gaps in logic throughout the entire picture. The score isn just awful, and actually detracts from the movie. There are just too many inconsistencies and questionable events for this movie to be very good. Coming from a director like Lumet, it is very surprisingly that the movie is this weak.

Jane Fonda is good in her role. She plays the has-been actress fairly well, and actually looks pretty terrible at various points in the movie. This was was a brave role for her to take, and she plays it pretty well. Jeff Bridges does a decent job. He has some very good moments, and a lot of bad moments. The supporting cast is decent, but they have more poor moments than good ones.

The Morning After was an attempt by a great director and a good cast to make an interesting thriller. Unfortunately, they fail, as the film does more wrong than it does right. The film is a huge disappointment. It should have been so much better. As is, I wouldn't recommend this movie. The script is a mess, and instead of a great movie, we have a hollow shell of what could have been.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Fatal Attraction, Dog Day Afternoon