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One of my all time favorites.

Excellent but underrated film

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Dreadful puns. Unbearable middle-class, underwritten archness. Acting, script that jars even more mercilessly once you realize they're not elements of an avant-garde distanciation strategy. Probably the only film I've ever seen that elicited sheer untrammeled loathing at every moment of viewing, usually bad films only evoke a mild bemusement and wondering when it'll be over, an expectation that it may improve. Compare with meeting someone who fills you with such futility and tedium after the first few words of conversation that you just walk away from them with no excuses or explanations. This film is that person.tedious, irritating schlock.A pristine 'chamber piece' of fatuous complacency. The 1st 20 min came with such an undertow of nauseous inertia, life flashing before eyes, etc, that didn't stick with it. Maybe should watch it again? Do they all get blown up in the end?

I saw the movie for a second time, 5 years after the first viewing, and realized that this is not a movie to view casually on a tired evening. My initial assessment was that Julie Christie and Nick Nolte were arresting in a movie with some clever camera-work by Toyomichi Kurita assisted with some interesting music by Mark Isham. Period.The second, more-attentive viewing allowed me to savor the intelligent script and unusual direction of Alan Rudolph. The script is remarkably close to Edward Albee's "Who's afraid of Viginia Woolf"—-both have two sets of couples, each set a generation apart, the older one ruing the loss of a child.Rudolph presents a script on sex without sex though peppered with wit that could make Noel Coward pale in comparison. For example: "I'm Jeffrey Byron III. There won't be a IV. We Byrons quit when we get it right." Or "I did notice your wedding ring!" And the response "It's removable!" The wit is not obvious—I missed much of it on the first casual viewing—unlike the name of the lead character "Lucky Mann," married to an attractive actress who is can be acerbic with her very attractive aging handyman husband as she smirks "How was work today, Lucky? Unclog a few tubes?" The film is not propped up by the Shawian script alone (interestingly Director Robert Altman is the producer), but Director Rudolph extracts fascinating performance from top four actors who are thoroughly believable. The anguished cry of Julie Christie is the key to the film that transforms Rudolph's script from clever humor to mature tragedy. It is this cry that makes you reevaluate the entire film, why Jeffery (Jonny Lee Miller) balances on roof edges, why Phyllis' (the mesmerizing Julie Christie) "soul needs an overhaul", and why Rudolph allows Kurita to make his camera do a cartwheel at several points in the film. Clever, Mr Rudolph, but how many will have the patience to savor it all.Finally, Rudolph has successfully brought out the incredible charm of Julie Christie and the potential of Nick Nolte as actors. It is a pity Christie missed a second Academy Award!

I bought the "Afterglow" soundtrack prior to hearing it, and to seeing the movie, because it is composed by Mark Isham and performed by Charles Lloyd -- two underheralded greats of modern music. I still congratulate myself on that purchase; this soundtrack is one of the best ever. The movie, on the other hand, was a *HUGE* disappointment. What was Alan Rudolph thinking?? The stilted dialogue, the muddled story-line, the confused editing, the glacial pace... and that ending! What was *that* about?? Do yourself a favour: go directly to the best part of the film and buy the soundtrack album. In the liner notes, Alan Rudolph wrote: "Like the glow which remains after a source of light is gone, this music is guaranteed to illuminate any place in your heart where love has been." Amen to that.

There's no doubt Julie Christie was one of the most unique personalities of the late sixties and early seventies. A remote beauty who was sexy and charming in Billy Liar and Darling, haunting and enigmatic in Don't Look Now and McCabe and Mrs. Miller and one of the few things worth remembering about Doctor Zhivago. Her notorious pickiness when it comes to choosing roles has served her well and she is one of the few stars from that time who has moved quite gracefully through a film career. Her resources as an actress allow the character of Phyllis Mann to come alive in a way that few could accomplish and the magic she creates is unforgetable. Laid back hipster Alan Rudolph's sexual roundelay has a lush look on top and a jazzy score below but it's Christie who sears the visuals with sadness, mystery, and wit. Nick Nolte's rugged charm serves him well throughout and when these two are alone together on screen, the art of film acting is proudly displayed. Watch the scene when a drunken Phyllis tries to rekindle their physical relationship and notice the body language. Note to filmmakers: Rudolph's genius is knowing when not to move the camera and in trusting his actors to do the work.The film seems ponderous and flat at first and Johnny Lee Miller and Lara Flynn Boyle are still learning their craft (their scenes do grate), but Afterglow is a cockeyed success for those with patience.