You ever have a yearning to watch a good old-school P.I. movie with a satanic twist, well this is the movie for you!
Mickey Rourke, full of bubble gum and cigarettes, is a New York private investigator in 1955. He usually deals with lightweight cases, insurance and shit. Not much with the peoples. But when Louis Cyphre gives him a case he can’t refuse, Off goes Harry Angel on the trail. While not the most scrupulous of investigators, he slowly makes his way down to the bottom of the case. All. The way. Down.
The telegraphing of the plot isn’t too hidden, especially with the heavy religious and voodoo thematicses. Just look at the Employer’s name, fer fuck’s sake. DeNiro plays Mr. Cyphre in a calm if not unsettling manner, and Rourke is perfect as the New York stooge tasked with the case. Even The Cosby Show’s Lisa Bonet breaking out of that wholesome TV role in a pretty significant fashion. Director Alan Parker, with a great eye for visuals, particularly with light and shadow, did this five years after the quite fucked-uppedness of Pink Floyd’s concept album “The Wall,” and delivers a pretty engaging investigatin story here that ends on a strangely happy note. Naw, I’m just fuckin with ya, it doesn’t end well for pretty much anyone involved.
