The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995) – Film Review

Director: Philip Ridley
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd, Viggo Mortensen
Certificate: 18

by Sarah Morgan

Some people are just too talented. Take Philip Ridley, for instance. Born in East London in 1964, he started out as an artist, a contemporary of the YBAs (Young British Artists).

He’s a celebrated children’s author and has written adult fiction too. His plays have been widely acclaimed and the release of a new one is regarded as a major event in the theatrical world. Ridley is also a poet, photographer and performance artist, although it’s perhaps for his contribution to film that he is best known.

He wrote the screenplay for The Krays, starring Spandau Ballet’s Kemp brothers, before directing his own scripts; his trilogy of horror films – The Reflecting Skin, The Passion of Darkly Noon and Heartless – are hugely original, visually arresting and have a cult following.

“Desires literally drive him mad”

Ridley now claims to have ‘finished’ with film, which is a loss, but his small body of work remains as fresh and original as ever. Of the three movies The Passion of Darkly Noon is perhaps the most famous thanks to its trio of Hollywood stars – Viggo Mortensen has a supporting role, while Ashley Judd and Brendan Fraser, then at the height of their fame, play the leads.

Fraser portrays the title character, who is found lying in the road before being taken to the home of Callie (Judd) to recover. She learns that Darkly (named after the Biblical quote, “Now we see through a glass, darkly…”) has spent his entire life as a member of a conservative religious cult that came to an abrupt end in a violent confrontation between its members and townsfolk living nearby. Darkly’s parents were killed in the chaos.

As he becomes increasingly obsessed with Callie, Darkly finds his burgeoning sexual feelings at odds with the teachings of his church. His desires literally drive him mad, leading to a violent confrontation with the woman he loves and Clay, her mute boyfriend.

“Innocence and religious mania”

Initially, we’re led to believe that the ‘passion’ of the title is Darkly’s attraction to Callie, and to a certain extent it is, but Ridley also draws on Christ’s Passion for inspiration – our first good look at the character comes when he is carried, while lying in the form of a crucifix, to Callie’s house in the trailer of a pickup truck.

Fraser brilliantly combines Darkly’s innocence and religious mania in an unforgettable performance that reminds viewers of what a good actor he can be when working with a decent script. Judd is fine too, while Mortensen is impressive as Clay, communicating using only clicks, whistles and taps. Watch out for a scene-stealing Grace Zabriskie as caravan-dweller Roxy, who fans the flames of Darkly’s mania.