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My Own Private Idaho
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Starring: River Phoenix
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 102
min.
Release Date:
September 1991
On The Web:
Unofficial Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
I tend to enjoy Indie
films. Many of them break away from standard Hollywood fodder which can
make for a refreshing change whenever watching one on the silver screen
or cuddling up on the sofa to check out a movie you know very little
about.
But this one's a bit beyond that, which demands some praise ...and
caution.
This film is basically about two young men, Scott, played by a very
young Keanu Reeves (THE
LAKE HOUSE) who likes to break out into stints of
Shakespearean dialogue in the telling of this modern day tragedy. Scott
comes from a wealthy family but acts like a homosexual vagabond just to
piss them
off.
Mike, played by River Phoenix, gives an excellent performance as a
homeless, narcoleptic, male prostitute who's in love with Scott but
can't seem to make their relationship happen. Scott constantly comes to
his rescue whenever sleep forces itself on Mike.
Against these characters Portland, Oregon lives, they travel around,
looking form Mike's mother, who'd abandoned him as a child. Mike has
never gotten over the trauma of this and anytime he's asked to have sex
with a woman, his mind reels back to images of his mother and he goes
into one of his narcoleptic spells (stress-related).
There seems to be no specific plot given to the story. We're thrown
around the film as if someone has opened up a photo album and are making
us stare at pictures of their family vacation. That is to say, this film
is choppy like that.
Story flow is tossed to the wind in favor of snappy dialogue, excellent
filming (the panoramic shots of open spaces are breathtakingly
beautiful), and some great acting.
But after finishing the film (I was able to finish watching it) I
wondered about its message. What was the point of showing us these
damaged people? What were the film makers trying to get across to the
audience?
These are pretty important questions, and I feel that Gus Van Sant
(Director) didn't answer them.
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Image from My Own Private
Idaho
DVD cost: $30.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
On the rooftop when Mike
is waking up and Bob is returning to the city with Budd, 'Matt Dillon'
's voice can be heard on a television in the distance. The scene which
can be heard is from Drugstore Cowboy (1989), an earlier film by Gus Van
Sant.
Movie Quote: "When
I turn 21, I don't want anymore of this life. I will change when
everybody expects it the least."
Other Actors/Actresses
from My Own Private Idaho
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