Where to Watch Light Sleeper
Discover where Light Sleeper is available to stream, rent or buy across different platforms and countries.
Why I took it off the list:
After recently rewatching The Rocky Horror Picture Show and being reminded of how much I loved her performance as Janet Weiss, I decided to take a look at some of Susan Sarandon’s earlier filmography.
This led me to this crime thriller, written and directed by Paul Schrader (who is not always reliable but has more hits than misses, so decided to give him the benefit of the doubt).
Also, it gave Willem Dafoe a rare leading man role early in his career. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of a film starring 2 great actors from an acclaimed director, so I was curious and decided to give it a go.
Review of Light Sleeper (1992)
Light Sleeper tells the story of John LeTour (Dafoe), a drug dealer for a high-end New York outfit run by the improbably glamorous Ann (Sarandon).
As the film opens, we see ‘Tour’ go about his nightly business delivering goods to punters in clandestine meetings. But he’s thinking about throwing in the towel, stating in narration that “A D.D. told me when a drug dealer starts writing a diary, it’s time to quit. I started writing after that.”
He realizes that he may actually have to take up another pursuit after Ann announces that her long-gestating plans to get out of drugs and build a cosmetics empire may finally be coming to fruition.
Then, while meeting with young pusher Jealous (a veeeery young Sam Rockwell), he learns that a young woman was found murdered with high-end cocaine on her person, and that the police are now cracking down on mid-level dealers.
After a few more visits to hopelessly stoned clients (including a veeeery young David Spade), he has a chance encounter with an old flame, Marianne (Dana Delany).
She’s wary of engaging with him because of their history of using together, and she now steers clear of alcohol and drugs, but he swears he’s been clean for years.
However, when he admits he’s still dealing, she splits. Disheartened, he goes home to look at old photos of them together, and then, bizarrely, decides to visit a psychic reader (Mary Beth Hurt) for life advice.
Later, he’s tasked with delivering Valium to a client, Tis (a relatively young Victor Garber) at a hospital, where he again has a chance encounter with Marianne, as well as her sister Randi (a veeeeery young Jane Adams), who are there caring for their sick mother.
He continues to pursue Marianne, and they have an intimate encounter, but after it’s over she tells him she wants nothing to do with him.
Later, he realizes a cop is tailing him because of the murder, and then goes on to have an experience while delivering to Tis that sets him on a dark path.
Disappointing Story but Great Acting
What Light Sleeper has most going for it are the performances. Dafoe makes for an intriguing protagonist, ably conveying a gradual sense of disillusionment and world-weariness as the reality of his profession starts to dawn on him.
Meanwhile, Sarandon is clearly having a lot of fun as the flamboyant Ann, particularly in a restaurant scene where she savors the taste of ‘flown-in’ raspberries and gossips about an ex-client Hollywood producer and his dirty secrets.
Plus she gets to look fabulous in a range of extravagant get-ups and hairstyles (which I guess is a big reason for why she took the role, which is really a supporting part, though she gets top billing).
For the most part, Schrader’s writing really pops, particularly in the scenes between Ann, Tour, and their queer associate Robert (David Clennon).
The scene between Tour and Marianne in a hospital cafeteria is also an excellent piece of writing and direction, and Delany really shines in the sequence.
However, Schrader’s literary gifts desert him in a cringy sex scene where he has Delany declare “That’s quite an erection”, and “I’m dripping”.
And, unfortunately, the film is somewhat derailed late in the runtime when Schrader decides to employ one of the most egregious uses of ‘fridging‘ I’ve ever seen in any medium.
Though this development provides some momentum to what was previously a slow-burn character study, it lends somewhat of a sour taste to the rest of the picture.
The film also stumbles in the music department, with a cloying score and some truly terrible 90s-style power ballads from Michael Been that have not aged well at all.
Still, Light Sleeper is somewhat redeemed in the third act by giving Sarandon more to do (something I had practically been screaming for during the whole film), despite some questionable moral messaging.
Final score: 6/10
Light Sleeper (1992): Worth Watching?
If you don’t mind the dated 90s music and murky morals, Light Sleeper is worth a watch for Dafoe’s riveting central performance, Delany’s sympathetic turn, and Sarandon’s deliciously flamboyant role.
