What we have here is "Eraserhead" for the 1980s. Jennifer Jason Leigh keeps her clothes on for a change. The entire film takes place in a rundown Art-Deco era nightclub, and there is really no story, just endless strange happenings and images. I suppose if you are looking for some kind of deep meaning to this movie, hallucinogenic drugs might be the only thing that could provide a tad of understanding. For the sober viewer the entire film will come across as nothing more than a bad dream experience. Frank Stallone is a police inspector and his performance is one of his few subdued characters. The rest of the cast, including Peter Coyote, are totally forgettable. Bizarre is not enough, and thus "Heart at Midnight" cannot be recommended. MERK

Heart of Midnight had really great potential. Writer/director Matthew Chapman had some really great ingredients for this `old dark house' melodrama. The `hedonist nightmare' set which makes up the interior of the `Midnight' Theater is a genuine classic. Jennifer Jason Leigh is just so good, I didn't really mind she was playing the cliche `neurotic (psychotic?) damsel in distress' and Peter Coyote was a masterful choice as `Detective Sharpe`. It's too bad director Matthew Chapman let down writer Matthew Chapman. He should have realized by the rushes that he was blowing the mystery too early, leading to a tedious, if satisfying conclusion. NOTE TO DIRECTOR CHAPMAN: Jennifer Jason Leigh is NOT Nora Jones. DON'T have her waste celluloid and my time filling screen minutes with boring songs.

WARNING: SPOILERS Chapman should have used a LOT tighter camera work on the `maintenance guys' in the beginning and their plotting to rape Leigh. This would have given this sequence more impact without necessarily resorting to the lurid `rape' subplot. It would also have been better to have the real `Detective Sharpe` delayed from visiting Leigh. His murder happens too early and doesn't really add all that much to the drama of the film. Also, the mystery of Coyote's `true' identity and behavior would have been more tense and the exposition stretched out over several scenes. Having several scenes of mistaken identity between Leigh and Frank Stallone muffles the tension and undermines credibility. Certainly the police would have searched for Sharpe when he turned up missing.

Having Coyote turn out to be `Uncle Fletcher's' partner could have been handled better as well. This taints the character unnecessarily and makes his responsibility for failing to help his sister seem an even graver sin. Throwing in the hallucination sequences for shock was annoying and unnecessary. A little restructuring of the story would have enabled the director to milk the truly scary sequences for maximum shock value. Maybe having Leigh taking psychotropics for recurring nightmares rather than a full-fledged mental patient would have made it easier to relate to her character. Having the `psycho sister' explain the story dissipated the shock value even more. Better to have Coyote reveal what was going on before he was shot. I wasn't quite clear what sexual acts `Uncle Fletcher' had performed on Leigh and the `psycho sister'. Rape, sodomy? Pretty hard to do on a 2 year old without leaving physical evidence. If `Uncle Fletcher' liked little girls, why was the `psycho sister' dressed and coifed like a boy? Too many kinky questions, too little time.

The major plus of `Heart of Midnight' is the last scene, revealing a ravishing, sexy Leigh dancing with Coyote. Chapman and Leigh and Coyote reveal in one skillful, sensuous, romantic scene sexual and emotional catharsis. Had the rest of the movie been so skillful, he would have created a masterpiece. Leigh once again demonstrates why she is one of the screen's finest actresses. How she looks in the last scene alone is worth the price of admission. I love to redo this movie with a more coherent storyline. If writer/director Chapman is interested, I'd love to run a few ideas pass him.

'Heart of Midnight' is an unusual, bizarre thriller. Jennifer Jason Leigh, in her trademark weird roles, plays an emotionally disturbed young woman who leaves home after a bout of extreme instability and tries a spat of independence upon inheriting her mysterious uncle's strange nightclub and home. But, cheerful Uncle Fletcher is not quite the endearing relative that the young woman remembers as she discovers more and more things about the house--many rooms designed for some weird sexual fantasies.

After an attempted rape, the young girl alerts the police who become involved in an investigation. Well, actually, one man does. Claiming to be a police detective from internal affairs investigating the death of one of the culprits, killed when fleeing the police who had arrived on the scene. But, the detective is not who he seems, and the young woman's paranoia becomes increasingly more unbearable for her and those who around her. The game of cat and mouse introduces a bizarre psychological thriller, although a doubtful one at that when it seems that the young woman sees hints of another presence in the house, but can't convince others of the same, never having enough evidence to make such claims credible.

The movie is especially bizarre, given the motives of those responsible for bothering the girl. The viewer is given little backstory on the uncle and his strange habits are eluded to only through what evidence the woman also receives. What are all of these rooms for? What was her uncle like? And so forth. Just as the girl's own background is strange, the viewer experience everything with such suspicion and to some extent, revulsion, as she does since we only get as much detail as she does. It is done stylishly so, at least as far as visual efforts, but may be for a certain audience. For those who enjoyed the early 90s noir thriller, Liebstraum, you might enjoy this less sophisticated, but equally odd tale of suspense.