Light Sleeper (1992)
78%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 6 nominations
Light Sleeper requires patience, but delivers commensurate rewards — and boasts an absorbing performance from Willem Dafoe
Light Sleeper is a movie that’s like a silk scarf – fashionable, stylish, and a little bit dark. It’s a portrait of New York City at night, where the people who are awake are the ones you don’t want to meet. Willem Dafoe is hauntingly good as the lead, and the supporting cast is just as sharp. The shoot-out scene might not be redemptive, but it’s definitely thrilling. Overall, Light Sleeper is a smart and sassy movie that’s worth staying up for.
Production Company(ies)
Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.,
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hotel Pennsylvania, West 32nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong language and drug content, and for violence and a scene of sensuality
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):English, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 21, 1992 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2002
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany, David Clennon, Mary Beth Hurt, Victor Garber, written by Paul Schrader, directed by Paul Schrader, produced by Linda Reisman, Mystery & thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Hugo Davenport, Derek Malcolm, Gene Siskel, Michael Wilmington, Steven Rea, Jeff Shannon, David Nusair, Jeff Simon, Malcolm Johnson, Vanessa Letts, Dennis Schwartz, Stephen Hunter, MPAA rating R, drug dealer, wealthy clientele, drug-related murders, police suspect, Manhattan, drug trade, drug supplier, quitting the business, old flame, reconnecting, romance, change for the better, reluctant, suspect, absorbing performance
Worldwide gross: $1,055,987
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,260,367
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,380
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 246,496
US/Canada gross: $1,050,861
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,249,395
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,007
US/Canada opening weekend: $46,302
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $99,111
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,936
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $10,702,628
Production budget ranking: 1,637
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,763,365
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$14,205,626
ROI to date (est.): -86%
ROI ranking: 1,933
Susan Sarandon – Ann
Dana Delany – Marianne Joseph
David Clennon – Robert
Mary Beth Hurt – Teresa Aranow
Victor Garber – Tis
Director(s)
Paul Schrader
Writer(s)
Paul Schrader
Producer(s)
Linda Reisman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (6)
American filmmakers have a weakness for presenting a shoot-out as either the precursor of redemption or redemptive in itself; this film falls into the latter group.
May 20, 2022
Hugo Davenport
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The cast is skilfully alert… and Schrader’s vision is unencumbered either by sentiment or cynicism.
February 28, 2021
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Light Sleeper is emblematic of an era, and is recommended on that basis and on the excellent quality of it acting.
September 9, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It’s a failure perhaps, but an honorable failure. If it isn’t saved by grace, it has many saving graces.
September 9, 2014
Michael Wilmington
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
With his deliberate speech patterns and haunted, reptilian good looks, Dafoe is an almost nobly sad presence at the center of the film. There’s something wonderfully calm about his performance, and it holds Light Sleeper together.
September 9, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Dafoe completely inhabits the character, appearing in virtually every scene and developing a fascinating psychological profile.
September 9, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
…an erratic yet predominantly satisfying effort from Schrader.
June 30, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
It’s good Schrader — a quiet and gentle portrait of moral squalor among very fashion-conscious people who wear silk scarves and green suede jackets and lunch at Cote Basque.
February 28, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Jeff Simon
Buffalo News
A telling, atmospheric portrayal of the life of New York in the hours when most people are sleeping soundly in their cozy beds, not cruising aimlessly through the darkness.
February 28, 2021
Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
The plot and characterization came across as an adolescent fantasy which had entirely missed its mark.
July 24, 2018
Vanessa Letts
The Spectator
A resonant thriller.
November 5, 2014 | Rating: B+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
The movie is smart and sassy and alluring. It’s like a gifted impressionist updating his material with wit and brio and respect.
September 10, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4
Stephen Hunter
Baltimore Sun…
Plot
A drug dealer with upscale clientele is having moral problems going about his daily deliveries. A reformed addict, he has never gotten over the wife that left him, and the couple that use him for deliveries worry about his mental well-being and his effectiveness at his job. Meanwhile someone is killing women in apparently drug-related incidents.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
“With his deliberate speech patterns and haunted, reptilian good looks, Dafoe is an almost nobly sad presence at the center of the film.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
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