Scorsese's "After Hours": Anxiety Attack Cinema at its Finest

Okay, so I finally crossed After Hours off my Scorsese filmography list. Whew. What a ride. I knew it was gonna be different from his usual stuff, but I wasn't prepared for that level of sustained, escalating anxiety. Dude just wants to return a pottery piece and ends up having legitimately the worst night of his life. Griffin Dunne is perfect casting too, you can feel his mounting desperation as things just get progressively weirder and more Kafka-esque. What really sells it for me is how grounded it feels in its absurdity. Like, yeah, it's completely over-the-top, but the small interactions and the reactions of the various downtown weirdos feel so real. Teri Garr's character, Julie, is peak 80s eccentric artist and her performance is both hilarious and kinda unsettling. The whole 'plaster of paris' thing felt SO random, but somehow fit perfectly. And the scene in the club with the punk band? Pure chaos. I loved how Scorsese plays with lighting and shadow throughout; it amps up the paranoia considerably. I gotta say though, I'm still a little unsure about the ending. The whole 'back to the office' thing felt a bit... abrupt? I get the idea, obviously – that Paul's back to his boring routine after this insane night, but I wish it'd had a bit more... punch. Maybe that's the point; that life just goes on, even after your world gets turned upside down. Who knows. Still, that shouldn't be a deterrent to watching it. Overall, definitely worth checking out, especially if you're into Scorsese's less conventional work. It's a black comedy nightmare, and I mean that in the best possible way. It's like if Woody Allen made a horror movie, only instead of neuroses, the monster is New York City. Maybe I need a rewatch to fully digest it, but for now, I'm giving it a solid 4/5 stars. What did you guys think of the ending? I'm curious to hear other interpretations.