Griffin Dunne plays Paul Hackett, the main character in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.
Released in 1985, After Hours follows Paul, a Manhattan word processor whose attempt to meet a woman in downtown New York turns into an increasingly bizarre overnight ordeal. A chain of misunderstandings leaves him stranded in SoHo while strangers, chance events, and hostile circumstances prevent him from getting home.
The film is a dark comedy with elements of suspense and surrealism. It turns an ordinary evening into a rapidly escalating nightmare, using the changing streets of Lower Manhattan as both setting and obstacle. Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Teri Garr, Catherine O’Hara, and John Heard appear in supporting roles.
After Hours was made during a period when Scorsese was developing several different projects. It won the Best Director prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. The film’s central joke is its accumulation of small problems rather than a conventional criminal plot.