I am not sure if this is as good as the 'Reflective Skin' (Amazing film!), but it is definitely very close. Philip Ridley is a brilliant director. He is a true visionary and he managed to get three of the best performances from three of the best actors in Hollywood @ the time i.e. Brendan Frasier, Ashley Judd, and Viggo Mortensen. Very cool movie. Unique, and interesting. It's kind of long, but still extremely weird, and cool, and totally worth the watch.

I would have had no idea about this movie unless it was recommended by Mark Kermode (in a recent interview with director Philip Ridley) because, to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of either Brendan Fraser or Ashley Judd. Good thing I gave it a shot, though. THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON isn't the least bit subtle in its thematic approach, but it crafted a unique, compelling story whose implications are hard to ignore. It examines the darker tendencies of religious fundamentalism, its obsession with the nuclear family and how easily a brainwashed and distorted mind can resort to violence when beliefs are challenged. Brendan Fraser plays Darkly Noon, a man raised in a Bible-believing cult who, through circumstance encounters Callie (Ashley Judd), who lives with her boyfriend Clay (Viggo Mortensen, in a wordless performance). Initially, Clay is away and Darkly finds himself sexually attracted to Callie despite being conflicted. Things take a turn for the worse when Clay returns. That's all you really need to know going in. Ashley Judd gives a decent performance, although she serves more as eye candy in some respects (but intentionally so). I wasn't as sold on Brendan Fraser's performance initially, but his choices did make more sense as the story progressed. Viggo Mortensen also did what he could playing a mute. Ultimately, the blunt force approach to the themes in the story cheapened it a little (for me, at least), but it was very effective at eliciting an emotional reaction at all the right points. What tipped the film in a more positive direction was the melancholy, mostly piano score which conveyed a sense of isolation and unrequited desire that are at its heart. There were also a couple of songs, one of which plays over the closing credits, that I really liked. This isn't a film I'd recommend to the casual movie-watcher (or an overly religious person, who would probably take offense to the portrayal of religion), but for the more adventurous person who seeks out under-seen gems. While not perfect, this one will probably stay with you (and me) for quite a while.

ATTENTION, POTENTIAL VIEWERS! Some possible SPOILERS follow:Philip Ridley has produced a genuinely poetic yet nightmarish piece in Passion of Darkly Noon. The setting of the film forms perhaps its central part. An almost never-never land in the middle of the lush impenetrable forest. A light cabin with a beautiful and sensual Callie (Ashley Judd) living there day and night and communicating with the primal forces of nature (rain, storm, caves, thickets, springs, etc.) The viewer cannot help but feel inundated by the intensity with which the forces of nature are brought together into a single bundle of some primordial virginity. Darkly (Brendan Frasier) is brought into the "eye of the storm" to be cared for and nurtured back into health. Striking a pose of seductive nymph, Callie unsuspectingly (or maybe not) stirs Darkly's (who is extremely inhibited and repressed) sexual passions. They proceed to escalate uncontrollably. Initially, Darkly is torn by conflicting internal thoughts about how to react to Callie and how to understand his own emotions and urges. Progressively, his "demonic" side takes the upper hand: his "misgivings" about Callie are validated by the nearly insane Roxy (Callie's mother-in-law) who lives as a forest hermit nearby. The end is as frightening as it is purifying and tension-relieving. The film is full of mysterious symbolism and is uncharacteristically replete with ambiguities which remain unsolved throughout. My personal opinion is that this movie should be understood as a fable, a tale of sorts. In a sense, all this happens inside the Darkly's mind and soul. All other images in the film are just the external projections of Darkly's intense internal struggles, his PASSIONS. In terms of its atmosphere, Passion of Darkly Noon has a great deal in common with Maurice Maeterlinck's play Pelleas and Mellisanda (see the beautiful and otherworldly music by Claude Debussy). This movie is truly enchanted and enchanting. Could be watched many, many times for this quality alone. One of the best in its genre. See another Philip Ridley's movie Reflecting Skin -- equally bizarre, stunning atmospherics, wonderfully disturbing yet beautiful imagery.

Oh dear. This is such a dreadful movie. The guy from "The Mummy" and Ashley Judd - together at last. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - there has never been a good movie with the aforementioned Ms. Judd in it. Her career consists entirely of inept, banal, stupid movies. "Darkly Noon" is perhaps the zenith of her miserable little filmography, being pretentious and witless, "arty" and crass, cringe-inducing and hysterically funny (for all the wrong reasons). Take, as an example of this movie's momentous ineptitude, the final scene (one of my favourite in all movies), when the shoe floats downstream. Oh dear God, this is film-making as torture, as punishment, as though we, the hapless audience, have committed some crime and must be forced to watch deep and meaningful nonsense for the rest of our lives. Please, if you really think this is a good film, read a few books (preferably ones without pictures) and see a few genuinely intelligent movies. Soon. Hurry up! Time is running out!