ÎOne Night Standâ draws drama from
dangers of love

By Tracy Rhines
The Metropolitan

Temptation is a test between will and want that can reveal our innermost essence. This is the dilemma of the characters in director Mike Figgisâ
One Night Stand.

Max (Wesley Snipes), is a married commercial director in New York on a casting call while visiting his HIV-positive best friend Charlie (Robert Downey Jr.). After missing his plane to return to Los Angeles, he sees Karen (Nastassja Kinski), a married woman he had met earlier, and joins her for a performance of the Julliard String Quartet.

As Max and Karen leave the concert, they are mugged, leaving them shaken. After returning to her room to reflect on the eveningâs occurrences, the unthinkable happens as Max gives in to his temptations and sleeps with Karen.

This new experience leaves him a changed man. It strains his relationship with Mimi (Ming-Na Wen), his trusting wife. Max soon finds a distaste for his work and lack of satisfaction with his wife.
 

A year later, when he returns to New York to support Charlie, now in the final stages of AIDS, he must come face to face with his desires, emotions, and fears all at once.

Figgis unfolds a deliberately unopinionated account of the effects of infidelity and love. One Night Stand does not try to justify any of the charactersâ actions, making the storyline more realistic and plausible. This gives a feeling of observing the events as they develop before our eyes.

Wesley Snipes collected a Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of the troubled Max. His excellent dramatic performance captures the audience, causing us to feel for Max.
 

The supporting cast is superb including: Kyle MacLachlan, Glenn Plummer, Amanda Donohoe, Thomas Haden Church, and Julian Sands. Downey. delivers a convincing noteworthy performance of the dying Charlie, his body riddled with AIDS.

This character pulls the whole story together and Downey does a good job containing the urge to overact the part.