ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

lasttimeisaw A less-heralded movie from La Streep's impeccable track record, which is rather unanticipated because, STILL OF THE NIGHT is the much-anticipated follow-up of writer-director Robert Benton's Oscar champ KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979), which as we all know, won Streep her first golden statuette. So it is quite intriguing to dredge it up from oblivion and burrow into the unwonted qualitative drop.Gestated by Benton and his regular collaborator David Newman well before KRAMER VS. KRAMER, this neo-Hitchcock pastiche probably is a carte blanche reward in the wake of his landslide triumph with the former, however, the last thing one might expect from an acclaimed screenwriter like Benton is the cockamamie plot in this shoddy whodunit, which toys with a man's dreadful thought of smitten with a woman, whom he suspect might want to rub him out, a tantalizing nod to human's morbid obsession with sex and death.As this lean psychosexual study plays out, a personable if overtly dithering Roy Scheider moderately ekes out that peculiar ambivalence, he plays Dr. Sam Rice, a Manhattan shrink bewitched by Brooke Reynolds (Streep), the mistress of his recently murdered client George Bynum (Sommer), and every evidence intimates that Brooke is the killer, including a slipshod second murder which doesn't make much sense in light of the context, or lousy filmmaking so to speak, for sure, relegating a paper-thin secondary character as the knife-wielding culprit in the reveal doesn't help, whose schlocky comeuppance is as phony as that preposterous "green box" dream analysis.Hopping on the film's slim pickings of merits, Benton at least, keeps the film's noir and nocturnal ambience in check, hoarily utilizes jump-scares and (repeatedly) a grisly dummy to amp up suspense and spookiness in spite of its strangely languid pace, but what captures our attention is none other than Streep's sole bash as a femme fatale spiffed up with Hitchcockian blonde tresses (of course, Benton is not above to sexualize her in that ludicrous back-massaging episode, which only leaves us wondering the incredible work ethic of her oriental masseur), she is gorgeous but beset with jitters, calculated, defensive and somewhat bluntly standoffish, conferred with a munificent long take for poignant explication of her past (a treatment would otherwise be replaced with action-packed flashback if the actress is not up for the task), and she nails it beautifully, again, which comes off as a maddening case of underutilizing a real trouper's talent, short-changed by the story itself, so is a hale Jessica Tandy, not a man's nattering mother stereotype, but a more rational mind that had it been given the chance, might solve this nonsensical mystery way ahead of her libido-driven son.

Predrag "Still of the Night" has all the classic elements of Hitchcock, the murder investigation, the innocent bystander (Roy Scheider) who must solve the puzzle to clear his own name (and save his own life), the icy blond beauty (Meryl Streep) who may or may not be the killer, the creepy Long Island mansion where the clifftop climax takes place. Most of all, we have several examples of Hitch's most distinctive contribution to cinema, the suspense sequence that builds slowly to a payoff. The symbolic dream, the adventure in the creepy basement laundry room, the eerie midnight excursion into Central Park, the long section at the swanky auction house with the hero desperately trying to deflect the authorities who are closing in, these are pure Hitchcock, and Benton is better than most at making these classic ideas seem fresh and immediate. Meryl Streep provides the glamour and the mystery and her performance is simply stunning and a joy to watch. She also, I think for the first and only time to my knowledge, appears in the nude, but from a distance. She has a lovely figure and a cute rear end, which I think she should have showed off more often, so it is definitely adult entertainment, but also a classic whodunnit in the greatest tradition.What strikes me most strongly about "Still of the Night" is the loving care and dedication of everyone involved in the project, not just the direction and writing (Benton and David Newman) but the cinematography (Nestor Almendros), music (Broadway composer John Kander), and even the costumes (Albert Wolsky). And that cast can't be beat, from the glamorous stars right down to the extras. If you love Hitch as much as I do, give this film a look. This movie is worth it for the music intro alone and I can't agree with some of the reviewers. Sit back and just enjoy a great plot with great characters and a dynamite ending! Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Wizard-8 I think that writer/director Robert Benton was trying to make this movie akin to something Alfred Hitchcock would have made, but "Still of the Night" doesn't work as an homage or even a regular thriller. There is a real aloof feeling to this movie throughout - you don't really get a sense that any of the characters are those that are real flesh and blood. Roy Scheider was a talented actor, and Meryl Streep certain is, but even they seem overwhelmed by the depressing atmosphere and can't add much life. The main problem with the movie, however, is that it is extremely slow and boring. There are no shocks and there isn't even any real tension at any point. This extends even to the music score - there's almost no music in the entire movie. And it's extremely easy to figure out who the killer is, since the movie doesn't exactly give us a long list of suspects. Movies like this gathered dust in video stores for good reasons.

tieman64 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".