The Blackout (1997)

Nobody creates art that examines the darkest undercurrents of modern society quite like legendary, iconoclastic director, Abel Ferrara. With Bad Lieutenant; a nihilistic portrayal of a not only police corruption but a vehemently evil man, and Welcome to New York; a repulsive look at a French politician committing a grievous act of sexual assault. Ferrara is no stranger to confronting incredibly dark themes and topics. He treats Hollywood as no different to the political or authoritative institutions in the films just mentioned. In 1993’s Dangerous Game we see Ferrara construct a simulacra of himself, played by Harvey Keitel, as a tyrannical and fiendish movie director hell bent on destroying both himself and the actors in chase of creating the perfect picture. It is a bleak self reflection of his own regrets, fears and his darkest secrets. Most filmmakers wouldn’t dare craft something so raw, let alone something that is so clearly about themselves. However, Ferrara dove again into previously charted territory with The Blackout, released in 1997.

The Blackout follows Matty (Matthew Modine) who is a Hollywood actor. Not much else is given to us about his character except from the fact he has a French girlfriend named Annie. He frequently visits the set of director Micky Wayne (Dennis Hopper) who is a sleazy film director who appears to be making low budget sexploitation movies however, the type of films he makes is never directly specified. Wayne is constantly wandering with a portable camcorder in his hand; capturing action both and on set with his new digital tool. “Video is the future” claims Wayne as he captures the illicit lives of the actors and film executives in a grimy, digital manner. Another great quote from him is “Godard says ‘24 frames a minute’ or is it a second?” Matty is a crippling addict; for both drugs and alcohol. He is struggling to contain his addiction and often this turns into fits of depression or aggression. This is one of many films Ferrara made in the 90s that deals with drug addiction (aptly titled The Addiction is a subtle but poignant take on the subject) and reflects Ferrara’s own mindset at the time. Being someone who struggled with drug addiction, for he is now sober for about 6 years, this feels very personal to Ferrara (his infamous Conan interview aired shortly before the release of this film) Not only is the subtext about the lives of drug addicts and how addiction can ruin a person but it is also a damnation of Hollywood and the people who occupy its slowly crumbling walls. Alongside this is Dennis Hopper who is pretty much playing a former version of himself - a frenzied, drug addicted director who is constantly shouting and making remarks that often make no sense.



As the film progresses Matty’s drug addiction culminates into a violent break up with his girlfriend over an abortion she had. One thing leads to another and eventually he is completely fucked up and meets another girl named Annie. Taking her back to Wayne’s and introducing her as “the new Annie” Wayne then manipulates both people into creating a movie scene where a hallucinating Matty believes this woman to be his old girlfriend. Ferrara here is showcasing the control that a director has over both his actors and his audience. After all, deception is part of the art of making a film. Wayne is capturing the whole thing on his camcorder. The new digital technologies allow for an instant replay of the scene, the destruction of oneself. We jump 18 months later and Matty is finally sober, at an AA meeting. He has met a new woman and is seemingly doing a lot better. But the nightmares do not stop. He cannot forget the past, images replay in his head of the night he wants so hard to move on from however, he can’t even remember what happened yet. Obsession is at the core of this ever increasingly bleak neo-noir. Constantly replaying dark corners of our pasts in our minds, through our dreams. Running on an infinite loop; much like the ever playing digital tapes on the constant TV screens throughout the film. The digitization of regret.

As Matty’s obsession with finding Annie, for which one he is no longer sure, and making sure that he didn’t kill her on that night that he cannot remember. One truly haunting scene is Matty watching the murder, of the second Annie, take place on digital video recorded by Wayne. The footage is played out on a small TV and looks horrendously ugly; all captured by a sleazy director himself unsure of what is even happening. As Matty’s hand crawls up the screen he realises what he has been having nightmares about, is actually reality. Ferrara’s anger at Hollywood boils up again with Wayne declaring “When are you going to take responsibility and look in the fucking mirror?” Ferrara knows that Hollywood is a morally bankrupt institution and cannot hold its own inhabitants responsible; including himself. Dennis Hopper totally chews the scenery in every scene he is in. His larger than life persona bleeds into the character he is playing; it truly is an absolute joy to watch him play someone this scummy (but not as much as he is in Blue Velvet) and Matthew Modine is great as the dialled down, broken shell of a man whose outbursts of aggression seemingly come out of nowhere.

The truly amazing editing that causes scenes to gently fade into one another, images dissolving into other images, creating a feverish drug induced dream-like feel. All backed by a powerful blues guitar line that pulls you right into the scene. This is easily one of Ferrara’s most gorgeous films. Beautiful shots of the moon and sun reflecting on the Miami Sea; waves crashing as Matty tries to determine what is reality and what is nightmare. But it is too late. For him the two have become one. Seamlessly switching between the smutty handheld digital footage and the beautiful film reels makes this one of Ferrara’s most experimental works. It means like a film where the old technology is meeting the new. The Blackout is one of the few films I would genuinely call “Lynchian” (a term that is often used but never really correctly) The dual identity of the two Annie’s and the obsessive and self destructive nature of the lead character feel like something that Lynch himself could easily come up with. Plus the whole thing is dunked in this sleazy, erotic nature and oozes with an uncomfortable atmosphere. Many people have compared this to Lost Highway (released the same year) and I would have to absolutely agree with that comparison.

The Blackout is one of Abel Ferrara’s understated masterpieces; although almost 80% of his filmography could be labelled with that. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime in the UK and I highly recommend doing so because, you will not find a film experience quite like this one.