After Dark, My Sweet (1990) begins as only the best noirs do: a handsome drifter arrives in town with dubious motives and immediately makes the acquaintance of a woman with sinister plans of her own. The twist in this story is that Fay, the woman in question (played by Rachel Ward), is a drunk; and Kid Collins, the hero drifter of our tale (played by Jason Patric), may or may not be psychotic.

An extended version of this essay is available in the Noir City Annual #12, a best-of publication from the Film Noir Foundation’s quarterly NOIR CITY journal. Subscribe to Sleeping All Day