Passion of Darkly Noon

THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON

In many cases, a foreign director can communicate a unique perspective on American culture, illuminating the dark corners and interesting details homegrown filmmakers tend to take for granted or overlook.   But in Philip Ridley's The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995), that idea is taken to an illogical - and often unintentionally comic - extreme.   Ostensibly set somewhere in the "American South", the film has been described as a surrealistic fairy tale unconcerned with narrative plausibility or geography.  But, except for a go-for-broke performance by Brendan Fraser, the film is nothing more than embarrassing collection of confederate clichés and career worst’s for all involved.  

Stumbling out of the wilderness, Darkly Noon (Fraser) is the sole survivor of a government assault on his family's religious compound.  He's taken in by Callie (Ashley Judd), a scantily dressed free spirit who lives with her mute husband (Viggo Mortensen) in an isolated farmhouse.    But their bucolic existence falls apart when Darkly's sexual obsession creates a dangerous love triangle, further spurred on by religious delusions and biblical vengeance.

Ridley's previous film, The Reflecting Skin, also took place in a mythical American setting and shared a similar theme of jealous obsessions.  And while Darkly Noon maintains that strong visual sense (Germany's Black Forest subs in for most location shots), the script is a mess of pretentious symbolism and flat-out corny characters.  Much of the blame rests with Ashley Judd's hotpants portrayal of Callie, a role so overtly sexualized it could have been lifted from Penthouse Forum.  Poor Viggo is forced to hoot, whistle and flap his hands in some half-baked backwoods form of sign language.  Only Fraser manages to make his character into something believable and sympathetic, this despite Ridley's almost offensive oversimplification of religious cliques and cults.

The film seemed to sit better with British critics who didn't find the broad cultural strokes so egregiously offensive.  Ridley's direction elicits performances that are more at home on the stage, which is exactly where his career drifted after this release.  As it stands, The Passion of Darkly Noon is part of that select company of indie-inspired film festival curiosities more notable for its eclectic cast than for its cinematic impact.   

Arrow Video's Blu-ray release features a new 2K restoration from the original camera negative.  There's an overexposed glow throughout much of the film, which doesn't make for the most detailed home video experience.  But it was obviously an intentional "look" and the rest of the presentation is spot on.  Extras include a Ridley commentary, interviews, isolated score track, trailers and collector's booklet.      

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