Setting out to see some of Richard Linklater’s films, having previously seen a handful, and I’m generally a fan (really liked School of Rock and Last Flag Flying, as well as Boyhood (even if it was kind of gimmicky), and who doesn’t like Dazed and Confused?!). I’m starting with one of his first films, Slacker. Filmed by Linklater (on just $23,000) and his buddies, as well as local musicians in the Austin scene in 1989 (such as Teresa Taylor, drummer for Butthole Surfers), this is a fascinating film/time capsule of the minds of 20-somethings at the time. The film begins with Linklater himself, playing a man arriving to Austin and hailing a cab. He engages in a one-way conversation with the driver about his thoughts on alternate realities, before getting out and witnessing a hit-and-run. While the woman lies on the pavement, we see the car, which had initially driven off, return to the street a block away, and find out that the driver was the woman’s own son. He goes inside their house as if nothing happened, lights some candles, before the cops show up to arrest him, based on eye-witness statements. The film goes on from there. Each new character is subtly introduced by the previous scene, and we get their new narrative. There’s a woman trying to find a buyer for a Madonna pap smear she’s acquired, a man obsessed with televisions and recordings (because you can’t rewind real life to see moments again), a handful of anarchists, a would-be terrorist, and a wannabe conspiracy theorist author. The common thread shared by most of them are young people with big ideas: heavy on plans but light on action. Is Linklater lamenting a generation with desire but no drive, or just a bunch of “slackers”? Though the constant shifting in stories started to wear on me by the end, it is still very entertaining and often very funny. ★★★
A Scanner Darkly is a cool film, based on a book by sci-fi legend Philip K Dick. Taking place in the near-future, it follows an undercover agent, called Fred around the office, but who’s real name is Bob Arctor. The world is fighting a losing war on drugs, with a new, potent drug named Substance D having taken over, with nearly 20% of the population addicted. To fight back, a super surveillance system is in place, recruiting people like Bob to get in deep with the users and dealers, trying to work their way up the food chain. Bob doesn’t know who he’s working for, and they don’t know him, thanks to futuristic suits they wear that blur their identity and voice when at the station. His undercover mission is put at risk when his superior, “Hank,” asks “Fred” to start watching Bob Arctor closely, not realizing that Fred is really Bob under his suit. At his home, Bob runs with a couple other addicts, including his girlfriend Donna, who is their dealer, and Barris, a conspiracy theorist who himself goes to the police station one day to try to rat on Bob. It’s not as convoluted as it sounds, and the whole thing seeps intrigue and mystery. I couldn’t help but wonder how Bob was going to pull this all off, and the ending blows it all out of the water anyway. To make it even more fascinating, the film is animated, but done with some kind of neat technique where the actors were digitally filmed, and then animators went to work coloring over the actors, scene by scene. So we see the actors in their natural acting (including Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr, and Woody Harrelson), but in an animated setting with a very unique look. Fun film. ★★★★
My desire to see more Linklater films really grew from my desire to see his Before trilogy, an initially unplanned trio of films about the evolution of a relationship. They were filmed 9 years apart from each other and so, while I normally watch my film batches back-to-back, I took my time with these, setting them out weeks apart, so as to let them digest in my psyche and breathe on their own. The first is Before Sunrise. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is an American on a train headed for Vienna, for a flight the next morning that will take him back to the USA. He has a chance encounter with Céline (Julie Delpy), a Parisian returning home after visiting family. The two have an instant chemistry, so when the train arrives in Vienna, Jesse boldly asks Céline if she’ll get off and spend the evening with him. He doesn’t want to leave a “what if” moment that they’d regret 30 years later. She agrees, and the two disembark to roam the streets of Vienna. Most of the film is dialogue, as they get to know each other, talking about life, love, future plans, past regrets, the whole gamut. There’s obviously something there, more than just a physical spark, and when the sun comes up, they have to make a decision: let this memorable night be what it is, or see if there’s the hope for something more. I absolutely adored this film, and the ending will leave you wanting more, in a good way. Only knock against it is Hawke, who I think has developed into a decent actor over the years, but in these early years, nuanced and subtle he is not. But it isn’t overly distracting, and Delpy is incredible, so they balance out. The story will leave you wanting to go to your loved one and give them a big hug. ★★★★★
I always try to avoid major spoilers in my reviews, but that’s obviously not possible when sequels are involved, so you are warned. Before Sunset was released, and takes place, nine afters after the first film. Despite their promise to meet in Vienna 6 months after their night of sublimity, Céline and Jesse never reconnected. Jesse is an author with a book out, a “semi-autobiographical” book about that night all those years ago. It’s a bestseller and he’s on a small European book signing tour, and his last stop takes him to Paris. Céline is at the book store there to see him, and they meet. Unlike the first film, where they had a whole night, now they only have an hour until Jesse needs to be at the airport. The film is shot in real-time (it is only 80 minutes long), and follows the duo as they walk the streets of Paris. Nine years older and maybe a bit more cynical, they discuss their lives and how things are different from what they had expected. Most importantly, they talk about why their second meeting never happened. If anything, it’s even better than the first. The young adults are now older and wiser, but each still hasn’t found that connection with another person in the intervening years. I noted above that Hawke couldn’t quite match Delpy in the first film, but he has grown a bunch by 2004 (remember, this is just a couple years removed from his breakout critical role in 2001’s Training Day). Together, the two weave a wonderfully romantic story of a couple fighting fate. ★★★★★
Before Midnight is the finale, another 9 years down the line. Jesse and Céline have stayed together all these years. They have twin girls of their own, and Jesse’s son from his first marriage, Hank, is a teenager. The film begins at the tale end of a vacation, where Hank has joined his dad and Céline in Greece for the summer, and is flying home to the USA, where he still lives with his mother. Jesse is reflecting how he’s stayed in Europe with Céline all these years and missed out on seeing Hank grow up, and it has led to some resentment between Jesse and Céline. He approaches her about moving to Chicago, but she is adamantly against it, since her life and career is in Paris. It leads to a huge fight, where each says things they’d probably regret later. The kinds of awful things you never want to say to a loved one. Can they come back together in the end? Whereas the first two films were very endearing, with smitten lovers getting to know each other, we now have a couple that know each other very well. They know how to push each other’s buttons and are comfortable enough to say anything, without any trepidation. As a hopeless romantic, I couldn’t help but like the first two films more. They definitely have a feel of hope and love. The finale is more bitter, but in a way, more “real.” Gone are the days of exciting, crazy young sex, replaced by the grind of a long relationship, which as we all know, is much harder to keep together. ★★★★½
- TV series currently watching: The Sopranos (refresher episodes before the new movie)
- Book currently reading: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Jons Movie Takes 