Director: Mike Figgis
Notable Cast: Sean
Bean, Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting
In the idea of being perfectly frank, Stormy Monday was a film that never crossed my consciousness until
Arrow Video announced that they were bringing it to Blu Ray a few months ago.
Considering the stacked cast, it did come as a surprise that the film seemed to
be truly a cult item. However, it was concerning. A film with this kind of cast
from a well-received director (and featuring cinematography of Roger Deakins)
should have some notoriety going for it in cinephile circles, but perhaps it
was just one that fleeted away from me somehow. After watching Stormy Monday though, it’s kind of
understandable why this seems to be a forgotten piece of film. For what its
worth, it’s a decently confident debut for director Mike Figgis, but it’s also
a film so rooted in being a neo noir and subtle in its building of characters
and plot that it comes off as too slow for its own good. On the back of the box
it’s referred to as a ‘romantic crime thriller’ but the romance, thrills, and
crimes all seem pretty safe in comparison to many of the other modern noir
thrillers that have come and gone. It’s a good film, but hardly one to capture
the heart.