OK, so it's no Vertigo, but I enjoyed this homage to the Hitchcock genre.Multiple references to Hitchcock's work. Some are obvious (a blonde, a suspenseful auction) some enjoyably less so (a stuffed bird, and the house that is in Glen Cove). It's fun to pick them out.An atmospheric and suspenseful story, which holds interest. Streep is beautiful and plays the brittleness of her character very well I thought. Scheider is his usual dependable self.Overall, I think a tad underrated and well worth a spare ninety minutes.

Not bad, but as often seems to be the case with this kind of film, the payoff is somewhat less than the set-up (or should we say, the destination is less interesting than the trip). An interesting exercise, with some twists and turns and good visuals and New York locations. Roy Scheider gives a VERY appealing performance, and a young Meryl Streep is quite lovely and affecting (if a little affected) as the Mystery Woman. Other performers are also good: Josef Sommer very much so as the Patient, Veteran actress Jessica Tandy interesting and effective as Scheider's mom, and Canadian actress Sara Botsford is very striking as the Surprise in Waiting. The cop (Joe Grifasi) was somewhat perfunctory, as arguably was the movie as a whole. Still, with everything going on in it, an enjoyable and not unmeaningful film.

A psychological thriller, Robert Benton's "Still of the Night" stars Roy Scheider as a psychologist who falls in love with a woman (Meryl Streep) who may or may not be a psychopathic killer.It quickly becomes apparent that "Still of the Night" is hugely indebted to Alfred Hitchcock. Unfortunately, Benton is no Hitch. Hitchcock was a master of his medium, whilst Benton's merely "aesthetically competent". And where Hitchcock's plots crackle with sexuality, Benton is unable to coax heat out of Streep or Scheider."Night" co-stars Joe Grifasi and Jessica Tandy. The oft-praised Streep overacts, or takes too seriously, a thankless role, though one sequence in which she screams in fright is magnificent. You've never heard a better damsel in distress.6/10 – Worth one viewing. For better Benton flicks, see "Bad Company", "Billy Bathgate" and "Nobody's Fool".

This is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock, but they forgot the main ingredient of the master's, and that's suspense. As a reviewer pointed out, almost every single scene is filmed in the dark, and at night. I can't really recall one daylight scene. I think they thought it would make it more suspenseful, but it backfired. It also has many nods to Hitchcock classics. I'll give them credit with the tribute to Vertigo. Roy Scheider stalking Meryl Streep was quite well done, and had an eerie feel. I guess my main problem with this movie was, despite that it was watchable, it's rather gloomy, and unexciting. I was watching this late at night, and there is an auction scene that seems to go on forever. I almost fell asleep. It tries to coast along with the strength of its two major stars, but that merely makes it watchable, in lieu of being successful. It's pretty cold and unlikable as well. It's quite difficult to garner empathy from either of the two leads. Roy Scheider tries to pull a James Stewart, but can't quite pull it off. He certainly has presence, and can make anything watchable, but he seems unsure on how to tackle the roll. I felt he was a bit too subdued at times. He's one of my favorite actors, but this is one of his more forgettable performances. I would have like to see his obsession with Streep go a little bit further, and add a little more angst. Meryl Streep is rather stilted in her performance. She has moments where she is outstanding, and others where her performance feels stilted. It was a bit inconsistent. One thing I'll mention is how gorgeous she was, when she was younger. You won't see beauty like that very often. Her chemistry with Scheider was disappointing. Her mysterious character wasn't explored enough for my liking. Jessica Tandy is solid as Roy's mother, but she is barely in this movie, and doesn't have nearly enough screen time. The conclusion was alright, but didn't have enough Oomph.Final Thoughts: Scheider & Streep are always watchable, but they are not at their best here. As a homage to Hitchock, this movie fails. As a time passer, you could do a lot worse than this. It's worth a watch, but don't expect too much. 5.5/10