The Morning After

Plot synopsis:
Charlie Lester is a public relations speech writer for an oil magnate. He is married with two children. As the film opens we see him drinking heavily at an office party and then having an argument with his wife Fran after he tipsily returns home. The song "Yesterday", sung by Joey Scarbury, is played several times in the film as Charlie continues in a downward spiral. He is given a jolting reason to quit drinking after his boss scolds him for appearing half drunk at an important business meeting, then ruining a dinner party at his home and even hitting his wife in a drunken rage. He is shown afterwards literally on his knees, begging her forgiveness.
It is revealed in the film that Charlie's father was an alcoholic and his mother was abusive, ignoring him while lavishing her affections on his younger brother. He breaks down as he tells this story to a therapist. In massive denial and pain, he drops out of therapy and continues to drink, culminating in a physical assault on Fran as she tries to drag him out of a bar. When he returns home, she informs him she is seeing a lawyer and filing assault charges. Charlie then becomes violently ill and vomits blood. His doctor informs him he may be suffering from liver damage and "either you stop drinking or you're going to drink yourself to death!"
In a desperate attempt to stop, Charlie takes a vacation and goes alone to a seaside resort. He winds up passed out on the beach. He suffers a terrifying attack of delirium tremens and wakes up in a mental ward. Even in this desperate circumstance, Fran stays with him and his sympathetic doctor informs him he can be helped, but his recovery is entirely up to him. Shortly afterward, Charlie escapes from the hospital and goes to a bar. He calls Fran and tearfully apologizes for all the pain he has caused her. He tells her he loves her and their children with all his heart but "It's no use...there's just no point...I'm no damn good, I never was...goodbye, my heart." The final scene shows Charlie alone, drunk and hopeless on a deserted beachfront.

Tags: neo noir, murder

Review:
Fonda and Bridges are both terrific, as usual, and the story of their meeting and falling in love along with the moral rebirth that love sparked in both would have made a fantastic movie.
Jane Fonda, Raul Julia, and Jeff Bridges are the main charactors in this suspense thriller.
Jane's falling star crashes right into Jeff Bridges who is always good as a laidback but tragically flawed loner.
Jane Fonda gives an incredibly nuanced performance as a spiraling down drunkard, she researched the tragic 40's star Gail Russell who drank herself to death at 36 to fully understand her characters plight of a once promising actress reduced to blackouts and infamy.
The rest of the cast gives good support starting with Raul Julia on down to a pre-stardom Kathy Bates in a tiny role, the problem is that the script that all this superior work is working with is ill conceived and not terribly well directed by the usually excellent Lumet..
While Jane's last Oscar nominated performance (before she retired from films) has its moments, the film falls apart after she takes off her blonde wig.
Some really well photographed scenery pops up near the first half and there's a long extended sequence that has her clean up the dead man's apartment, which is filled with many sly touches; alas the beginning is ten times better and more developed than the weak conclusion.
Jeff Bridges adds a nice touch to the story but was it really wise for the Fonda character to place all her trust in a total stranger?
But The Morning After  merits a look anyhow, owing to the characters that it cultivates, and  the performances of Fonda and Jeff Bridges in the two leads.
Actually, I  can picture a movie that would omit the murder and just trail the  genuine human development between Fonda and Bridges.
Indeed,  the fact that nearly every opinion I've heard or read of this film  seems unanimous in terms of James Hicks' script, including mine, even  down to the 'It starts off well but then it gets really forced and  jerry-built' gist, it seems pretty clear-cut what makes the film not  quite work, though it'd be a misstep to write this movie off simply  because the story is so rickety.
Fonda and Bridges are superb in the film, and their rapport, founded on  skeletons in the cupboard, bitterness and ulterior motives, gets  especially remarkable.
Before the schmaltzy final scene, not even close  to prototypical of Lumet, there's a single shot in which all Bridges  and Fonda do is face each other, and we know, and fee, that they want  to have sex with each other.
Living in Los Angeles  is part of the debilitating influence on the character played by Jane  Fonda.
THE MORNING AFTER is one of those films that begins with an intriguing opening--JANE FONDA wakes up in bed next to a murdered man and, because she was in an alcoholic daze, can't remember even entering the man's apartment.
The weaknesses are offset somewhat by the good performance of JEFF BRIDGES as a helpful policeman who agrees to help Fonda solve the who-dun-it aspect of her plight.It's all beautifully staged and photographed in a sunlit Los Angeles and worth watching for the performances alone.
Fonda is at her best as the worried alcoholic who refuses to believe she could have committed the crime and Bridges provides some good chemistry as a co-star.But the ending (with its revelation) is a bit disappointing after all the build-up to a conclusion.
RAOUL JULIA and KATHY BATES have minor roles but the weak ending is hard to dismiss.Fonda won an Oscar nomination and deserved it for creating a dimensional character in a story thin on believable characters..
Jane Fonda, playing an alcoholic but also a sensual lady, is brilliant too and so sexy as she was in 1971, when she won the Oscar for "Klute".
You´ll enjoy watching "The Morning After", if you love LA, the sunny days and ladies like Jane Fonda..
One major error is when Jeff Bridges leaves Jane Fonda off and she goes back into the loft.
Jeff Bridges and Raul Julia also are very good here.
The great evacuation scene at LAX leaves lonely people like Fonda and Bridges behind, and is meant to explain the relative vacant feel of the town throughout the rest of the film.The bright autumn light and vacant cityscape during the film is a surrealistic version of LA, which even a native like me seldom gets to see.
The rest of the film is much like a "B" film noir picture, where we wonder (but not seriously) whether Jane's character may have actually done the deed in a drunken haze, and whether the Cop's will be able to get the right killer.I love this film, not only for the scenes of LA, but for the good suspense generated by the unseen evil lurking in the all too limited shadows..
Jane Fonda stars as struggling, alcholic actress who wakes up one morning next to a dead, murdered courpse, only she doesn't remember anything about the night before, doesn't even know who the murdered person is, or why she is being set up.Jane Fonda turns in a terrific Oscar nominated performance in this thriller that manages to entertain and scare every once a while, but mainly fails due to a poor script.
Jane Fonda plays a glamorously burnt-out alcoholic in Los Angeles who wakes up one morning after a bender and discovers a bloody corpse next to her in bed.
Jeff Bridges (talking slowly with narrowed eyes) is an ex-cop who helps Fonda piece together the previous night's events.
Jeff Bridges co-stars as a benevolent ex-cop from Bakersfield (who meets Fonda entirely by chance), and Raul Julia plays her ambitious hair stylist ex-husband.
Jane Fonda is convincing as a distressed alcoholic actress who couldn't quite make it and Jeff Bridges is perfect as a sluggish mysterious well-doer.
Jeff Bridges held his own easily with Fonda -- another excellent performance on his part.
Did I killed this guy?" That's what crosses the mind of Alex (Jane Fonda), an alcoholic and decadent actress whose major problem with drinking led her to this living nightmare.
To help with both her long time problem and this surprising new one comes an ex-cop (Jeff Bridges) who also had a bad history with alcohol.This film noir look-a-like is more of a drama about these two people helping each other overcoming bad things than a movie concerned in solving the murder of the guy who was with Alex.
It is more interesting to see how these unusual couple act together than to stay focused on the thrilling aspects of the story and its revelations.Not much of a memorable film, "The Morning After" is a good opportunity to see Sidney Lumet directing Fonda (Oscar nominated for her role here), Bridges, Raul Julia (playing the hairdresser Jackie, husband of Alex) and Kathy Bates (on a minor role).
Light and funny scenes between Bridges and Fonda fighting each other over a wrecked car's door or the magic trick pulled by the woman to make people disappear (always fails) are priceless.Positively enjoyable, a good film indeed.
I was a big fan of Jeff Bridges but not really for any of his films and certainly not this one - I just always liked him probably because I liked his dad so much.
Would you ever think that Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges had chemistry on screen?
She finds help from a mysterious young man named Turner Kendall, played by Jeff Bridges, but suspense and mystery build as her situation becomes increasingly dire.
And so the mystery begins in this halfway decent suspense thriller of which there's not a whole lot to say.The Morning After is helped by strong performances and an engaging story that leads you on to want to know the outcome.
It starts out strong, opening with Jane Fonda's character waking up in bed next to a man with a knife in his chest.
During this panic she meets Turner, and this is where the mystery begins.The film builds its suspense nicely, but after a while it starts to flat line and doesn't get any more interesting until the end.
I can, however, give the movie credit for having a very exciting climax, but that leads into a final scene which wraps the film up a little too nicely.When you get right down to it, The Morning After is just sort of there.
It's a movie that tells a mildly interesting story with mildly interesting characters played by great actors.
Interesting Thriller has some flawed and silly moments but worth watching for the three terrific performances..
An struggling alcoholic (Two-Time Oscar Winner:Jane Fonda) awakens in a strange bed next to a highly controversial man, who is murdered.
She runs away from the murder scene and she finds herself protected to a redneck ex-cop (Jeff Bridges), who tries to help her.
While time is running out for the boozy lady.Directed by Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Guilty as Sin, 12 Angry Men) made an interesting, sometimes campy, suspenseful film.
This film has only a few thrills but it's the performances by Fonda, Bridges and a underrated turn by the late Raul Julia as Fonda's estranged husband makes this film worth a look.
Fonda and this film both look good, she as a haggard, fas been alcoholic, and sunny Los Angeles nicely photographed.
Bridges also gives a solid performance in this story that starts off on good fitting but gradually grows thinner as it progresses.
If you love Fonda and/or Bridges you might still enjoy this film, but for others I wouldn't go out of my way and seek it out..
The cast here is top-notch; Raul Julia, (I mean c'mon), Jeff Bridges in an unusual role, and Jane Fonda uniquely memorable as a has-been actress.
In this film, Jane Fonda experiences a disastrous morning after.
She wakes up next to a dead man and has no memory of the night before.Jane was up for an Oscar for her role as an alcoholic has-been actress, and she gives a fantastic performance as a boozy ol' broad.
Her leading man is Jeff Bridges, a former policeman recovering alcoholic, and he's the only ally in her quest to prove her innocence.If you like sexy mysterious thrillers, you're definitely going to want to rent The Morning After.
I'm not really a fan of Jeff Bridges, but Jane more than makes up for it.
She gets into trouble at the airport and picks up a ride with the slightly racist Turner Kendall (Jeff Bridges).Director Sidney Lumet is channeling a bit of his inner Hitchcock.
This movie once again proves that Jane Fonda is simply the best actress alive today.
I don't think Jane Fonda is capable of giving a bad performance, although her choices of film roles is sometimes questionable.
Jeff Bridges is a disabled marginally-functional ex-cop who takes in stray lushes; the perfect foil for Fonda's neurotically manic but sympathetic character.The suspense is fairly well placed, if at times heavy-handed, the plot thickening when a sympathetic former cop, Turner Kendall (Jeff Bridges) comes onto the scene who may or may not be trustworthy.
The Late/Great Sidney Lumet's 'The Morning After' is a A Well-Done Mystery Thriller!
TMA is definitely for fans who love Jane Fonda, and want to see her strut her stuff, where she's in top form, truly believable as an alcoholic ex actress, displaying a real range of emotions, all done so believably.
She meets a cop, Turner Kendall (great name played well by Jeff Bridges) that has us very much suspecting him.
Raul Julia is almost wasted really as Fonda's good friend, with a little bit of menace to his character, a homosexual.
He tries to help Fonda a bit, trying to stray the Bridges character away from her.
Bridge's ex cop character is fun to watch, very much cause he's real, He has flaws, and too, is not normally like the tough guy he usually plays.
She is believable and sympathetic as has-been actress Viveca Van Loren (aka Alexandra Sternhagen).Basically waking (after a drunken binge) to find herself next to a murdered man, the story sets a fast pace in the beginning.
Raul Julia as her ex-husband Joaquim Manero, who is on the periphery of her life, seemingly to help.Jeff Bridges as Turner, a disabled detective from nether world (Bakersfield) a bit exaggerated theme here, he is a country bumpkin, he has skewed values, but he does try to help Fonda sort the pieces of her life.
It is L.A., she is a failed actress who has seen better days- she still loves her ex-husband who has already moved to greener (and richer) pastures.Raul Julia is a Vidal Sassoon like character.
While the ending is a bit formulaic, Fonda's performance outweighs this, and she is well worth watching.
This is definitely one of Jane Fonda's greatest performances, in fact probably her greatest.
"The Morning After" is a murder mystery that features romance, blackmail and suspense but it's the relationship between the story's two leading characters that provides the main focus of the action and also most of the humour and interest that make this movie so enjoyable to watch.
What follows is loosely based on "The Blue Gardenia" (1953) and like its predecessor, this movie features a woman who was with a murder victim on the night he died, awakens the next morning unable to remember what happened and then has to put her trust in someone of whom she's not certain.Alex Sternbergen (Jane Fonda) is an alcoholic ex-actress who wakes up in a strange bed next to the corpse of a man she doesn't know and has no memory of how she got there.
The scene in which Alex escapes from the apartment where the killing had taken place is particularly memorable because at a time when she's feeling desperate and scared, being situated in a highly lit, deserted-looking street in which she's dwarfed by the structures around her, really emphasises her plight and reinforces the impression that, in these very open surroundings, there really is no hiding place.Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges are both exceptional in this movie and the chemistry between them is the icing on the cake.
Fonda (in an Oscar nominated role) makes Alex's combination of toughness, vulnerability and self-doubt totally believable and Bridges is wonderfully subtle in a performance that creates a lot of distrust about how sincere he is in his concern for Alex's predicament.
I kind of like this movie, really always have.Jeff Bridges is outstanding, J.Fonda is great, and Raul Julia is also fantastic.On top of all that, Sydney Lumet does a decent job directing too.SPOILERS: Basically, Jeff Bridges shines as a Bakersfield ex-cop named Kendall Turner,a real good ole' boy, who has all sorts of hillarious remarks about minorities and prostitution, but in reality he's a decent guy who believes in old fashioned values.Fonda plays a lush, who is fixated on her past as an actress who never quite made it.The late Raul Julia plays a Hollywood hair dresser named Jackie, who is an estranged husband of Fonda.Without giving away too much of the plot, I'll just say it has a decent and unlikely ending, pretty well conceived.Fonda is not sure if she's being framed for a murder she didn't commit, or if she actually stabbed a porn photographer in the chest with a kitchen knife,while on one of her drunken binges.In one scene early in the film, it becomes apparent someone is hiding in a closet of a loft apartment,watching Fonda as she attempts to cover her tracks in the dead man's residence.A cat wanders into the closet, and when she calls for it, she notices the door has been closed,.....ON ITS OWN!!!
Nonetheless, the talents involved particularly Fonda and Bridges make it consistently watchable and involving starting with the opening scene.
The film captures LA well enough and provided Fonda with her last good film role and Oscar nomination to date..
Jane Fonda is Viveca, a faded actress and major drunk of this or any other generation, who wakes up in bed with a strange man next to her who happens to have a knife sticking out of his chest.
She gets drunk again, wakes up in the morning and tries to take a shower but finds the same dead body propped up in the shower stall.Her estranged husband, Raoul Julia, does what he can to help but he's involved with his tony hair dressing business and Fonda winds up turning to Bridges for safety, succor, and sex.Then the plot gets a little twisted.I think Sidney Lumet must have gotten lost during a binge in New York night spots and woke up in Los Angeles.
The viewer is supposed to applaud because, now, THAT'S the iconic Jane Fonda we know and love.
"The Morning After" is a tepid thriller about an alcoholic has-been actress (Jane Fonda, whose performance was inexplicably nominated for an Academy Award) who wakes up one morning with a dead man at her side and no recollection of what occurred the night before.
Of course by the time Bridges and Fonda are sucking face the viewer has already pieced everything together.
But I did find the relationship between the characters played by Fonda and Bridges to be interesting.
While the murder mystery angle of the movie is not that well done - making this portion of the movie tired and familiar - the parts of the movie that focus on the Fonda and Bridges characters interacting are good enough that the movie despite its flaws is worth a look..
Raul Julia's talent is completely wasted, and the only halfway decent acting is by Jeff Bridges; if not for him this movie would be utterly terrible.
It relies too heavily non-existent chemistry of Fonda and Bridges who must have an age difference here of 12 years - and there's little suspense or atmosphere of mystery.