Martin Scorseseis unquestionably one of the best directors in film history, as his legacy of classics is nearly unmatched compared to any other filmmaker. Scorsese has redefined the industry time and time again, and it’s often that he pushed the boundaries of the medium when other filmmakers don’t have the energy to do so. While Scorsese is best known for classics such asRaging Bull,Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street,andThe Irishman, his track record goes even deeper than that.
Scorsese’s masterpieceThe King of Comedyis a timeless classic about the perils of media obsession that clearlyinspired Todd Phillips’ creationof the comic book filmJoker, and Scorsese met some of the most significant backlash of his career when he pushed theboundaries of religious expressionismwith his depiction of the life of Jesus Christ in the historical filmThe Last Temptation of the Christ. Similarly, films likeSilence, Hugo, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island, The Aviator,and even his concert filmTake This Waltzmay not be considered to be on the same level asTaxi Driver, but are classics nonetheless.
However, Scorsese directed one 1985 film that stands as the funniest, boldest, and most energetic film of his entire career, and it’s sadly one that many of his fans have never seen. Here’s whyAfter Hoursis one of his greatest masterpieces.
Griffin Dunne’s Amazing Performance
Griffin Dunne is best known for his performance inAn American Werewolf in London, but his performance inAfter Hourswas Oscar-worthy. Set within Scorsese’s favorite location ofNew York City,After Hoursfollows the adventures of Dunne’s character Paul Hackett as he attempts to meet up with single women after work. The night becomes more tumultuous when Paul find himself blamed for murder, accused of a series of crimes, and hunted down by a city that has now made him the #1 most wanted man.
In some ways, Paul represents a different side to the “New York bachelor” than the one that Robert De Niro played inTaxI DriverandThe King of Comedy; he’s very unassuming, nervous, and doesn’t have any ambitions. However, there’s a subtle pretentiousness to Paul that Dunne brings out perfectly. It’s a very different type of comedic performance than the one that Dunne gave inAn American Werewolf in London, which was more physically demanding. Nonetheless, Dunne adds some aspects of his physicality once Dunne goes on the run, proving again why he’s one of the industry’s most underrated actors in film history.
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The Creative Satire of Masculinity
Anyone familiar with Scorsese’s work knows that guilt is a recurring theme through almost all of his films. Much of this guilt has to do with the anxiety that comes with religious anxiety; this is seen with Willem Dafoe’s Jesus inThe Last Temptation of Christ, Harvey Keitel’s character inMean Streets, and Andrew Garfield’s role inSilence. However, Scorsese also simply understands how the pressures of dating, relationships, and sexuality can create anxieties and demands for young men that make it more challenging to make rational decisions.
Whether it’s Henry Hill inGoodfellas, Jordan Belfort inThe Wolf of Wall Street, Howard Hughes inThe Aviator, or even Jimmy Hoffa inThe Irishman, Scorsese has a monopoly on characters that would be considered tobe “toxic men.”Whether Paul fits those same standards is both an amusing and complex question. Obviously, Paul isn’t murdering anyone, but his yearning for relationships are seemingly unquenchable. Scorsese finds brilliant ways to show how Paul’s fears of being blamed for his sexual desire are realized when he essentially becomes a fugitive every time he stumbles into a romantic encounter.
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Like every Scorsese protagonist, Paul ends up facing the consequences for his actions. WhileMean Streetsdoesn’t end with the same series of arrests thatGoodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street,orRaging Bulldo, Paul is left to live the same miserable life as a desk worker that he had before. One of the funniest moments in the film comes a few scenes earlier when he’s on the run, and considers what other things he could possibly be blamed for.
His Funniest Film to Date
It’s ironic that Scorsese is so often considered to be a “serious filmmaker,” as he’s shown more often than not that he has a great sense of humor. Perhaps it’s Scorsese’s association with gangster movies that sting him with this reputation, but even those have an element of comedy to them; who could forget the hilarious “am I a clown?” speech that Joe Pesci delivers inGoodfellas, or the uproarious argument Pesci shares with De Niro inCasino? There’s generally an element of humor in even Scorsese’s darkest films, and he’s even made a few straight-up comedies in their own right.
When determiningScorsese’s funniest film, it’s a close call betweenAfter HoursandThe Wolf of Wall Street. The Wolf of Wall Streetis certainly the crazier of the two, as there’s an element of physicality that Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill bring in that is derived directly from the wild source material. Between drugs, wild office parties, and bribes,The Wolf of Wall Streetis utilizing true stories that often feel like they’d be considered too unbelievable to be fiction. However, there’s also a strong element of satire inThe Wolf of Wall Street, as it’s about how susceptible people are to the power of influence.
Comparatively,After Hoursfeels like the sort of madcap series of escapades that a filmmaker like Judd Apatow would make now, albeit without Scorsese’s incredible craftsmanship. This may be in part due to Scorsese’s youth, as he clearly had the energy of a young filmmaker who was interested in getting in as many jokes as possible. It shouldn’t be considered to be a “lesser” film in his career at all, but a different one!
