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To put it mildly, Gus Van Sants three-decade feature-film career covers a lot of ground.
Needless to say, ranking Van Sants oeuvre presents a few challenges.
Nevertheless, Van Sant is a quintessentially American director, creating stellar, personal work alongside indefensible dreck.
We revisited all of it.
(If anyone can actually recount the plot in full, they deserve a medal.)
Most disappointingly, complex racial dynamics inherent in the films premise are sidelined for cheap villains and easy answers.
No,Psychoisnt a good film.
Yes, its only fascinating in the abstract.
But its nevertheless a compelling failure.
Its a shame that major studios dont spend $60 million on cinematic experiments anymore.
Van Sants best film sinceParanoid Parkremains frustratingly on message and shuts out other avenues of life in the process.
10.Elephant(2003)
Van Sants Palme dOr-winning, Columbine- andAlan Clarkeinspired drama proved divisive upon release.
Probably closer to the latter.
Yes, Van Sant purposefully flattens their characterizations to emphasize their relationship to cultural archetypes and the education system.
These are genuinely interesting ideas to consider.
It may be beautifully rendered, but its also pretty sickening.
that work in spite of themselves.
Van Sant captures Walts lust in stark and direct terms, both in dialogue (My ass is sore!
I think he tried to use his cock like a weapon on me.
Macho fucking prick!)
as well as swooning camera movements, particularly a crucial sex scene framed by shadows and streaks of light.
Plus, it features stellar supporting turns by Dan Hedaya, Wayne Knight, and Illeana Douglas.
There are times when the movie reaches too hard for profundity and cohesion, especially in the home stretch.
Still, Van Sants empathetic eye ultimately stands out more than its flaws.
Troubled minds, even fictional ones, require a gentle, contemplative hand.
Its a pairing for the ages.
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
The directors sophomore feature acutely understands that an addicts life is mostly repetitive.
Situations change, people grow apart, the cowboy life loses luster, but the mundane remains forever.
He destroys the evidence and keeps quiet.
With no comeuppance on the horizon, Alex sublimates his shame into passivity and indifference toward his hobbies.
It scans as typical moody teenage behavior, but internally, its a fraught nightmare.
Dialogue is sparse, and when featured, its either practical (e.g.
strategies to climb off a rock without grievous injury) or inane (e.g.Wheel of Fortuneanecdotes).
Eventually, the quasi-Beckettian rhythms subside and fatigue takes its place.
Van Sant eschews narrative entirely and privileges the relationship between moving bodies and the physical space they inhabit.
But what does it mean?you ask.
Sometimes the universe plays the sickest jokes on those who least expect it.
