Cast: Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Hurley, Maria Bello, Janeane Garofalo, Owen Wilson, Peter Greene, Fred
Willard
Director: David Veloz
Producers: Jane Hamsher, Don Murphy
Screenplay: David Veloz based on the book by Jerry Stahl
Cinematography: Robert Yeoman
Music: Danny Benair
U.S. Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
If the progress of one man's descent into drug abuse in Permanent Midnight looks familiar, that's because the patterns of addiction are universal. It doesn't matter what an individual's demon is -- alcohol, speed, cocaine, gambling, sex, or one of a hundred other vices. In this case, David Veloz's adaptation of Jerry Stahl's autobiography, the substance is heroin. The resulting spiral into dependence, debauchery, degradation, and disaster is as predictable as it is sad. And, for every lucky man like Stahl who manages to recover after hitting bottom, there are numerous nameless, faceless statistics who never again rise from the depths to which they have sunk.
Little about Stahl's story is unique. Those who attend movies regularly will recognize it, since there's at least one film of this sort that comes out every year (recent examples: The Basketball Diaries, Sweet Nothing). Back in the 1980s, Jerry Stahl was a highly-successful TV sitcom writer (his best-known credit was Alf). Every week, he pulled in $5000. The problem was, he had a smack habit that was costing him $1000 more than that. What began as a minor recreational activity developed into an all-consuming obsession. Stahl couldn't function without heroin, but, after sticking a needle in a vein, he was "a real stud." Eventually, after being caught high while driving a car with his own baby in the passenger seat, Stahl straightened out his life.
As gritty as most of Permanent Midnight is, it doesn't wallow in unrelieved depression. The script, written by director Veloz, injects a fair amount of black humor into the situation. The dialogue is smart and the narrative voiceover is riddled with cynical, self-deprecating observations. Because the film is structured as an extended series of flashbacks after Stahl has successfully made it through rehab, we know that he's going to be all right in the end, so that allows us to laugh at the jokes while still recognizing the seriousness of the situation.
With Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage secured his reputation as a serious actor. As Stahl, Ben Stiller makes a play for the same distinction. This is a fine performance. Stiller portrays a man on the edge, driven by forces he loses control of . There's one scene in particular that stands out in my memory. Unable to find a vein in his arm for the heroin injection, Stahl plunges the needle into his neck. On another occasion, we see him rooting through a trash bin in search of the residue of someone else's fix. Through all of this difficult material, Stiller is entirely convincing.
No one else in Permanent Midnight has anything more significant than a supporting role. Elizabeth Hurley, who is building an impressive resume, plays Sandra, Stahl's green-card wife. If there's one thing that's disappointing about Permanent Midnight, it's that this relationship is only quasi-developed. Maria Bello is Kitty, a girl in a motel room that Stahl tells his whole story to. Janeane Garofalo, Own Wilson, Fred Willard, and Peter Greene all have small roles. And the real Jerry Stahl has a cameo as a pessimistic doctor who pronounces that failure is almost inevitable for hard-core addicts who try to kick the habit.
Permanent Midnight doesn't offer much in the way of surprises or revelations. It is largely what you expect it to be – the story of a man ruining his life because of his endless, desperate quest to inject a dangerous fluid into his bloodstream. Nevertheless, as familiar as the material may be, Veloz and Stiller invigorate it, making Permanent Midnight a more compelling and effective motion picture than one might normally anticipate from an entry into what has become a crowded field.
© 1998 James Berardinelli