After the Sunset is a 2004 comedy/action movie, starring Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett, a master thief caught in a cat-and-mouse game with FBI agent Stan Lloyd played by Woody Harrelson. The film was directed by Brett Ratner and shot in The Bahamas.
Synopsis
After the Sunset begins with master thieves Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) and his beautiful accomplice, Lola Cirillo (Salma Hayek), retiring to Paradise Island in the Bahamas after one last big score, having lifted the second of the three famous Napoleon diamonds. Their financial future is set, their career in crime a thing of the past. However, Stanley Lloyd (Woody Harrelson), the FBI agent who has spent seven years doggedly pursuing Burdett, only to be foiled time after time, refuses to believe their retreat into domesticity. After a few months, Lloyd shows up, accusing Burdett of hiding out in the same place where a cruise ship is displaying another large rare diamond, the third of a set of diamonds that he stole. He thinks the two are planning to lift the third Napoleon diamond, one of the three largest non-flawed diamonds in the world.
When the two adversaries meet up in paradise, Burdett unwittingly turns the tables and befriends the frustrated detective, showing him the pleasures that Paradise Island has to offer. Lloyd, out of his element, adapts quickly to the easy-going Caribbean lifestyle. Despite his pleas of innocence and placing Lloyd in first-class accommodations to show how he doesn't need to steal anything, Burdett's curiosity gets the better of him and he starts casing the ship. However, not only does Lola suspect that he's ready for ‘one more’ job, so does the local thug, Henri Mooré (Don Cheadle), who threatens Burdett to steal the diamond for him.
Burdett pretends to work with Mooré, even giving him a fake plan as to how he would steal the diamond (which he earlier related to Stan). Stan teams up with local police officer Sophie(Naomie Harris) to catch Burdett, and tails him to Junkadoo, a local parade, where Max loses him, warning that he shouldn't tail so closely. Stan and Sophie then have sex, and Lola kicks Max out after realizing his activities. Max is forced to bunk with Stan, and they share their thoughts about each other's lives. The next morning, the authorities and Sophie discover them, revealing that Stan's FBI license is suspended.
After a night of drunkenness on Stan's part, the two come up with a plan to get Sophie and Lola back, involving a scuba diving trip. Mooré's man attempts to steal the Napoleon diamond, providing a diversion for Burdett to steal it himself. He cuts off Stan's air supply to confuse the others, then returns saving him. On land, Sophie gets the call about the diamond being stolen. Stan and she angrily leave, while Lola prepares to leave. However, she is stopped by Mooré, who threatens to kill her if Max doesn't tell him where the diamond is. Fortunately, Stan and Sophie arrive and shoot him. Lola is nevertheless unfazed, and leaves Max anyway. After spending the night alone in their home, he realizes he wants her back, and catches her just before she leaves, proposing with "the only diamond I ever bought".
The next day, Max meets with Stan, who tells him he was never drunk, and entails how he let Max do all the work while he later recovered the diamond. Max concedes that his nemesis has won this time, and is simply happy to live out his life with Lola. However, he has fun with Stan by remote controlling his car once more, promising Lola it is the last time.
Cast
The film also features several cameos, including Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Phil Jackson, Dyan Cannon, Edward Norton and Shaquille O'Neal as themselves.
Production
Paul Zbyszewski’s original screenplay for After the Sunset was discovered by producers Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson, both known for producing movies such as Tigerland and Requiem for a Dream. The script was purchased by New Line Cinema and the producers hired Australian screenwriter Craig Rosenberg to create a re-write. Both the studio and the producers agreed that their first choice for the role of master thief Max Burdett was Pierce Brosnan.[1] Salma Hayek, Oscar-nominated for her performance in Frida, was the next to join the cast.[2]
Next to join the project was director Brett Ratner.[3] The film had originally been tipped to be directed by John Stockwell but Stockwell dropped out due to creative differences.[4] Talking about joining the movie, Ratner said: “I love caper films. There are so many great films in this genre, but what makes After the Sunset different is that it’s a heist movie that has a combination of great relationships, heart and comedy."
Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan were both offered to film cameos as American police officers (a nod to the Rush Hour series which Brett Ratner also directed) but turned them down.
With the two leads set, Woody Harrelson was cast in the role of Burdett’s nemesis, FBI agent Stanley Lloyd.[5] Harrelson said during promotion: “When this movie came along, I loved it right away." Don Cheadle's casting marked a third collaboration with Ratner (The Family Man and Rush Hour 2). The role of Sophie, the Bahamian cop, was the next role to be cast; British actress Naomie Harris landed the part.[6]
With the majority of the script set on an island in the Caribbean, the filmmakers decided to shoot in the Bahamas, Basing their production out of Kerzner International's Atlantis resort in Nassau, cast and crew flew in from Los Angeles, Miami and New York to commence filming.
Reception
After the Sunset was generally panned by critics and has a 19% approval rating based on 134 reviews from critics at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[7] At the website Metacritic, which utilizes a normalized rating system, the film earned a rating of 38/100 based on 32 reviews.[8]
Box office
The film earned $11,100,392 in its opening weekend, with its widest release in 2,819 theaters. It grossed $28,331,233 domestically and $33,016,564 in international markets, adding up to a worldwide gross of $61,347,797.[9]
References
External links
