Viggo Mortensen in Passion of Darkly Noon

Viggo Mortensen & Ashley Judd in the Passion of Darkly Noon

Release: 1996

Director: Philip Ridley
Writer(s): Philip Ridley

Runtime: 101 min

MCAA Rating: Not rated, but assume R

Websites:
IMDb

View movie on new
Brego website

Passion of Darkly Noon Cast and Crew

Viggo Mortensen: Clay

Other leading roles:
Brendan Fraser: Darkly Noon
Ashley Judd: Callie
Loren Dean: Jude

Passion of Darkly Noon Synopsis

Dark, sensuous drama about an orphaned teenager Darkly Noon (Fraser), from a strictly religious family. Darkly is lost in the woods and ends up in the home of beautiful Callie (Judd) and deaf-mute Clay (Mortensen). As Callie nurses him back to health, he becomes obsessed with her and sinks into madness and violence.

Passion of Darkly Noon Brief Review

The Passion of Darkly Noon is an experimental film with an unexpected story, taking risks, loaded with symbolism, well acted and beautifully shot. If you are looking some something out of the mainstream and have a stomach for violence, you will find it at least interesting.

However, it is not an easy film to watch. Darkly Noon's obsession leads him to behavior that is initially self-destructive, finally exploding into bloody homicidal violence. Viggo fans who are faint of heart or looking for a light cheery evening should look elsewhere or else fast-forward about 3/4 of the way through the film, watch the steamy love scene between Clay and Callie, and then rewind.

Passion of Darkly Noon Articles & Interviews

The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995) - Movie Reviews UK, 1997
Damian Cannon begins his review: "A twisted, haunting fantasy-tale, The Passion of Darkly Noon weaves the fate of strangers together and plunges them headlong into destruction." After discussing the film's plot, characters and metaphors, Cannon concludes that "as in most fairy-tales, the storyline is slight and only a small element of the final picture. Instead the interaction between characters, symbols, sound and light provide the engine which drives Darkly on his inexorable path towards chaos. It is these factors which make [the film] such a compelling and absorbing experience, encompassing viewers willing to experiment with a little logical relaxation. While unlikely to appeal to all, The Passion of Darkly Noon is worth a visit by those looking for something off the beaten track." He rates it 4/5 stars.

The Passion of Darkly Noon by Philip Ridley - Film Festivalen SE, 1997
Of The Passion of Darkly Noon, film festival reviewer TR observes that "The brutality and contradiction of human nature is revealed without any romanticizing, by using dream-like images which are open to interpretation." He concludes that "The Passion of Darkly Noon secures Philip Ridley's position as one of the most interesting young British filmmakers of today."

Passion of Darkly Noon - Ozus' World Movie Reviews, January 14, 2001
Reviewer Dennis Schwartz summarizes the film as "an off-beat, haunting, overwrought fairy tale for adults," and discusses its biblical metaphors. "This visually pleasing allegory ends on an apocalyptic note. It takes a stab at being an intelligent slasher movie for those who like their gore laced with some sensible dialogue to go along with its good and evil characterizations." He gives the film a grade of 'C.'

The Passion of Darkly Noon (1996) Movie Review - Rotten Tomatoes, November 25, 2002

The Brain Dane - Sunday Times Magazine, November 30, 2003
Interviewer Ariel Leve does her best to dig into Viggo Mortensen's psyche, concluding finally that he wants "to make an impression—not as an actor but as a man. He just wants to be a hero." Interesting article includes a section on Viggo's silence during the filming of The Passion of Darkly Noon. [Chronicles] [Brego.net]

Whaaaaaaaaaat? - Late Reviews and Latest Obsessions, December 13, 2004
"The Critic" explains that he rented The Passion of Darkly Noon because considered The Reflecting Skin to be an "amazingly good film." Unfortunately, his opinion of PoDN is rather less. He goes into some detail about the inconsistencies and nonsense that he sees in the film. "In one short film, Philip Ridley managed to completely undermine his reputation—at least for me."

Passion of Darkly Noon Resources

Rotten Tomatoes: The Passion of Darkly Noon - Movie background information and links to several reviews.

Val's Screencaps: The Passion of Darkly Noon - Over 120 screen captures of Viggo Mortensen in The Passion of Darkly Noon. Mostly full-screen, some cropped. Larger than the average screencap, good clarity.

Wikipedia: Passion of Darkly Noon - Summarizes the plot and provides links to information about the cast and director.

Passion of Darkly Moon Video Clips

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Viggo Mortensen play Clay, a man who cannot speak, in The Passion of Darkly Moon. He expresses himself with his hands and facial expressions. And we must admit that the scenes between Clay and Callie (Ashley Judd) are smoldering!

pdn-06b: After-dinner talk «16-Sep-07» - After dinner, Clay (Viggo Mortensen) charms Callie (Ashley Judd) with magic tricks. In turn, Callie asks him to let Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser) stay with them.

Quicktime video 320x240 (01'32, 7.2MB)

pdn-07: Working in the shop «16-Sep-07» - Clay (Viggo Mortensen) is working in his shop, planing boards to be used for making coffins. Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser) is helping him. But when Darkly starts asking questions about Clay's relationship with Callie, Clay gets annoyed.

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'38, 3.1MB)

pdn-08a: Clay and Darkly «16-Sep-07» - Clay (Viggo Mortensen) and Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser) take a break from work; Clay shows Darkly a magic trick.

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'34, 2.7MB)

pdn-10: Fixing the radio «16-Sep-07» - Clay (Viggo Mortensen) fixes the broken radio, much to the delight of Callie (Ashley Judd). The two of them then start dancing, leading to discomfort for Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser).

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'36, 2.9MB)

pdn-14a: Evening smoke «16-Sep-07» - Clay (Viggo Mortensen) walks out onto the front porch and sits down for a quiet smoke.

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'24, 1.8MB)

pdn-14b: Kissy face «16-Sep-07» - Callie (Ashley Judd) joins Clay (Viggo Mortensen) on the porch for some sweet moments.

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'22, 1.7MB)

pdn-14c: Smoldering «16-Sep-07» - Callie (Ashley Judd) and Clay (Viggo Mortensen) get passionate. In the film, scenes of the loving couple are interspersed with ever more disturbing images of Darkly Moon. After editing out Darkly, I had about 2.5 minutes of Callie and Clay, which I cut to just under a minute. Rating for this clip is probably PG-13. There's more in the film, including the famous tabletop bit.

Quicktime video 320x240 (00'59, 4.7MB)

Passion of Darkly Noon Photo Gallery

Most of these images from The Passion of Darkly Noon are screencaps we made from the DVD; others from Obsession (link above) or the sadly defunct "Viggo Makes Me Hormonal as Hell" website.

after-dinner beer (700x533, 798x608)	skeptical (700x533, 798x608)	magic feather (700x533, 798x608)
looking for something? (700x533, 798x608)	found it! (700x533, 798x608)	magic bird egg (700x533, 798x608)
Callie pleads for Darkly (700x533, 798x608)	planing boards (628x480, 628x480)	work interrupted (628x480, 628x480)
go back to work! (628x480, 628x480)	studying (628x480, 628x480)	asking for a coin (628x480, 628x480)
no problem (628x480, 628x480)	emphasis (628x480, 628x480)	extinguishing cigarette (628x480, 628x480)
found a coin (628x480, 628x480)	hey, buddy (628x480, 628x480)	fixing the radio (628x480, 628x480)
it works! (628x480, 628x480)	shall we dance? (628x480, 628x480)	slow dance (628x480, 628x480)
Smoking on the porch (700x525, 1024x768)	Clay and Callie (700x525, 1024x768)	Clay and Callie kiss (700x525, 1024x768)
Clay in the shop (305x345)	Clay (278x354)	Clay protective of Callie (155x250)
Clay angry (352x325)	The Passion of Darkly Noon DVD cover (343x500)	The Passion of Darkly Noon VHS cover (256x475)