Angel Heart

Mickey Rourke is OK and easily carries the entire film on his shoulders, while the investigation is quite interesting with an atmosphere matching the best crime thrillers. And yet, I can’t rate it higher than what you see. The script, as it has been mentioned here several times, failed to reach me, to draw me into the plot or to shock me in any significant way. And the ending, full of supernatural and mysticism, was okay from the director's point of view and, like a few other scenes from this film, uncompromisingly and thrillingly delivered, but it rather spoiled the whole view of the film for me. That said, a very decent thriller and a must for the fans of the genre. (19/07/2011)

The jazz-filled atmosphere of Noir York as a perfect introduction and the disturbing voodoo flood as a strongly negative contrast. With mysterious thrillers, I simply expect more balance, and the crescendoing punctuation, as impressive and perfectly precise as it may be, is not enough for me. The perfectly stylized depression loses narrowly to the unnecessarily overdone Louisiana. 70% (21/12/2009)

A good thriller that gets a mysterious touch in the middle and by the end slides into horror. The story is not exactly packed with action, it moves forward rather slowly to reveal a surprising twist at the end, and it is really surprising. Formally, I don’t think there’s anything to reproach, but the film didn’t win my heart because voodoo is a topic that I don’t care much for, and that prevents a full score. (10/05/2008)

A devilish film that lacks a little more audience appeal and dynamism for my taste. However, Alan Parker does a spectacular job, he perfectly builds the atmosphere, skillfully manages the lighting, and keeps the viewer in suspense throughout, leaving you unsure of what will happen in the next five minutes. The script is good enough (perhaps a bit too convoluted) and culminates in a shocking twist, which thankfully really works. (25/09/2005)

A Louisiana almost-noir, with a phenomenal De Niro. He is so precise in his role that you instantly know what’s going to happen. Even if you didn’t know what you were getting into in the first place, like me. After all, even the second part of the finale is pointlessly numbed by the insensitive use of flashbacks. The atmosphere of “the weird South" is of course executed flawlessly and Rourke… He is, as always, a story in himself. (04/05/2009)