Brendan Fraser gives one of his best performances as a person disturbed in a way I have not seen since Jack Nicholson in Cukoos Nest. Here, Fraser plays Darkly, a kid who has lost his parents (who are so religiously strict they make the pope seem like George Carlin) and later finds a beautiful woman (Ashley Judd is good in this role) and loves her dearly but is torn between his beliefs (and her boyfriend played by Viggo Mortensen). Very freaky, thanks to writer/director Phillip Ridley and especially John de Borman's cinematography (some of the best photography ever in my opinion). Yet, it is very well done, as a trip into the psyche is shown; in the weirdest way. Only letdown is the very last scene.

Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser) is the sole survivor of a military-style attack on an isolated religious community - think Waco. As he wanders the forest in a daze, he is taken in by Callie (Ashley Judd). Darkly finds himself feeling strange new feelings that his religious upbringing has ill-prepared him for. Once Callie's mute man Clay (Viggo Mortensen),he becomes more lost than ever before.



Director Philip Ridley has been all over the map artistically, acting as a storyteller in a variety of media. Here, he's telling Darkly's tale as he wanders through Appalachia, an orphan via government military attack, lost in his own dark night of the soul.

This film has never been released on blu ray before, which is pretty amazing in this day and age. It's certainly unlike any other Brendan Fraser movie I've seen. And I've seen Monkeybone.

Let me sum up the strangeness of this film: it's supposedly set in the American South and yet it was shot in the German woods. There's also a scene with a gigantic glittery clown shoe that is on fire in the middle of a lake as a Viking burial for a dog, which causes Fraser's character to cover himself with barbed wire and set a house ablaze at the behest of his zombified parents while throbbing beats blare on the soundtrack.

Seriously, nothing prepared me for this development.

Imagine Brendan Fraser in the role that Nick Cage never played, completely unready to play said role. A must-see? You know it.

I watched this film yesterday and was pretty blown away by it. It's very much like a magical realist novel in how it mixes aspects of modern life and society with fairy tale mythology and a general dreamlike atmosphere.

The story is basically about a young man named Darkly Noon who has been brought up by religious fanatics and who stumbles upon a weird "family" of three that lives deep in the woods after his parents are murdered. These people consist of Callie, a women who is so beautiful and sensual she's being compared to a force of nature, her mute boyfriend and a third young man. At the beginning Darkly, played by Brendan Fraser who is actually downright awesome in this film, is alone with Callie, which causes a lot of confusion as he's attracted to her and his sexual desires clash with both his religious dogmas and, upon his return, with her boyfriend. There's also a strange old woman living in the woods who claims that Callie is in fact a witch who seduces and kills every man she meets and also accuses her of having murdered most of her family. With that in mind Darkly, who has been continuously mutilating himself to control his urges, decides Callie needs to be punished for her sins against god. Things go very wrong from there...

The Passion of Darkly Noon is a tough film to describe because there really are not a lot of movies that are anything like it. It's part thriller, part dark erotic drama, part supernatural horror and part fairy tale. Now try to wrap your mind around that ... It is expertly and effectively directed by Philip Ridley, who has only directed this film and THE REFLECTING SKIN a few years before it and spends most of his time writing children's books. Which makes sense because DARKLY NOON bears some resemblance to the simplicity of the narratives of children's books. It's just that it goes into extremely dark and adult territory instead of remaining wholesome and family-friendly. The performances by everyone involved are great, Fraser really surprised me with his portrayal of Darkly. The guy once had some promise before he decided to squander it all in ridiculous braindead blockbusters. Ashley Judd, who plays Callie, also does a great job with a very difficult role. Callie is incredibly seductive, naive, playful and almost childlike all at once and Judd pulls it off admirably. Her mute boyfriend is played by Viggo Morensen and he's also good in a role that requires him to convey everything with gestures alone. Special praise has to go to Nick Bicat for a truly haunting score that fits the style of the film and John de Borman's lush cinematography perfectly.

THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON is the best film I have seen in a long time and a genuine discovery.