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In 1992sLight Sleeper, Willem Dafoe wanders the streets of New York like a ghost.
In other words, hes a Paul Schrader protagonist.
The character has gotten older as Ive gotten older, Schrader toldFilmmaker Magazineafter the release ofLight Sleeper.
When he was in his 20s he was angry.
When he was in his 30s he was narcissistic.
Now hes 40 and hes anxious.
I think that the times have changed similarly.
That anxiety seeps into the movie in the form of an overwhelming melancholy.
Nonetheless, a few plot threads emerge that eventually steer LeTour into a violent showdown.
(I am able to change, he writes.
I can be a good person.
What a strange thing to happen halfway through your life.
In classic Schraderian fashion, tragedy strikes, and LeTour finds himself in need of a gun.
