Written and directed by Richard Linklater, Dazed & Confused is the story of a group of high school kids celebrating the last day of school in the summer of 1976 as they deal with what is ahead in the course of an entire day. The film is an exploration of kids getting ready for the summer where some are ready to embark their final year in high school with some ready to become freshmen and deal with the hell that is high school. Starring Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Nicky Katt, Parker Posey, Wiley Wiggins, Rory Cochrane, and Adam Goldberg. Dazed & Confused is a wild and rapturous film from Richard Linklater.
Set on the last day of school in a small Texan town in 1976, the film is a simple story about the day in the life of a group of kids who are about to become seniors later in the fall as some would take part in hazing kids who would become freshman as they spend the entire day partying and thinking about what will happen. It’s a film that has a simple story with a lot of subplots where kids who are to become freshman deal with not just hazing but also what will happen in high school. Some would deal with partying and seeing what will happen while one of them in a high school quarterback finds himself needing to sign a piece of paper to prohibit him from using drugs and alcohol from his coach.
For that character in Randall “Pink” Floyd (Jason London), he refuses to as he just wants to live freely while some friends wonder why he won’t do it while some say he should stand up for his own beliefs. He would also help out a freshman in Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) whose sister Jodi (Michelle Burke) is about to become a senior as she would help out a freshman in Sabrina (Christin Hinojosa) in understanding what would happen in high school. Mitch and Sabrina would endure brutal forms of hazing with the former being targeted by this asshole senior in O’Bannion (Ben Affleck) who has failed to graduate as he takes pleasure in hazing seniors by beating them in the ass with a paddle. The film’s third act would be set in a keg party as it involves a lot of characters where there’s some fights but also discussions on what will happen after high school.
Richard Linklater’s direction is quite simple for the way he presents 1976 Texas as it is shot in areas near Austin, Texas to express a world that is quite vibrant but also not do too much to make it feel like a period film. Much of the compositions are simple but also has this sense of energy in how they’re shot and the scenes that are created. Notably the way the young girls are being hazed by these older girls as they would be humiliated in such a way that is comical but also horrific. The usage of close-ups and medium shots help play into some of the intimacy but also in some of these raucous moments that happen in the film as it’s presented with some humor. The direction does have a few wide shots but it is mostly about the parties and characters just talking with one another. Even as there’s a few fights and moments that play into the world of youth as they all deal with the emergence of adulthood. Overall, Linklater creates an exhilarating and heartfelt film about a group of kids getting ready for the summer on their last day of school.
Cinematographer Lee Daniel does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it‘s largely straightforward with some naturalistic shots for much of the film‘s daytime scenes with some lighting to play into the interior/exterior scenes set at night. Editor Sandra Adair does amazing work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the humor as well as some of the action with a few slow-motion cuts. Production designer John Frick, with set decorator Deborah Pastor and art director Jenny C. Patrick, do fantastic work with the look of the pool hall some of the people hang out at as well as the school halls and some of the props that are created to recreate the world of the 1970s.
Costume designer Katherine Dover does brilliant work with the film‘s costumes as it plays into the look of the 70s from the ragged look of the stoners to more stylish look of the shirts and bellbottoms some of the characters wear as well as the nightmare that was the leisure suit. Sound editors Sandy Gendler and Val Kuklowsky do nice work with the sound as it is very natural and straightforward while providing some mixing and edits in some of the parties that happen throughout the film. Music supervisor Harry Garfield does superb work with film’s music soundtrack as it features a lot of the music that was playing during that time from acts such as Aerosmith, Sweet, KISS, Alice Cooper, the Runaways, Dr. John, Black Oak Arkansas, Seals & Croft, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, War, Nazareth, Ted Nugent, ZZ Top, Edgar Winter Group, the Steve Miller Band, Bob Dylan, and Peter Frampton.
The casting by Don Phillips is incredible for the large ensemble that is created for the film as it would include many actors who would later become big stars in their own right. Notable small roles include Kim Krizan as a history teacher, Mark Vandermeulen and Jeremy Fox as a couple of freshmen kids who are trying to avoid being hazed, Deena Martin and Christine Harnos as a couple of senior friends of Jodi, Catherine Avril Morris as a sophomore who takes a liking to Mitch, Esteban Powell as a freshman friend of Mitch who has been targeted by O’Bannion, and Jason O. Smith as a friend of Pink who also takes part in the hazing but is kinder to the freshmen. Other noteworthy small roles include Joey Lauren Adams as Pink’s girlfriend Simone, Nicky Katt as a tough guy in Clint, Cole Hauser as fellow football player Benny O’Donnell, Sasha Jenson as the comical football player Don Dawson, Shawn Andrews as a stoner friend of Pink in Kevin whose plan for a house party falters, and Milla Jovovich as Kevin’s girlfriend Michelle who is kind of the silent hanger-on.
Ben Affleck and Parker Posey are fantastic in their respective roles as the bullies O’Bannion and Darla with the former being a complete asshole who takes pleasure in beating up boys while the latter is on a power trip to humiliate young freshmen girls. Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, and Marissa Ribisi are excellent in their respective roles as the intellectuals Mike, Tony, and Cynthia as they often observe everything around them while daring to ask big questions about their future. Christin Hinojosa and Wiley Wiggins are brilliant in their roles as the freshmen Sabrina and Mitch as two young kids who are about to enter high school as they encounter partying but also some of the dark aspects of high school.
Michelle Burke is wonderful as Jodi as Mitch’s older sister who has some feelings for Pink while trying to help Sabrina get ready for the realities of high school. Rory Cochrane is superb as the stoner Ron Slater as this comic relief that likes to smoke weed and do some funny shit. Jason London is amazing as Randall “Pink” Floyd as a football star who finds himself compromised by his coach about his lifestyle as he begins to think about his own life. Finally, there’s Matthew McConaughey in a phenomenal performance as Wooderson as a guy in his early 20s who hangs out with the guys as he is kind of a philosopher while being the coolest motherfucker in the room.
Dazed & Confused is a spectacular film from Richard Linklater. Featuring a great cast, a fun soundtrack, and many different stories set in the span of an entire day. It’s a film that isn’t just funny but also allow to ask big questions about growing up and living in the moment. In the end, Dazed & Confused is a magnificent film from Richard Linklater.
Richard Linklater Films: It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books - Slacker - Before Sunrise - subUrbia - The Newton Boys - Waking Life - Tape - School of Rock - Before Sunset - The Bad News Bears (2005 film) - A Scanner Darkly - Fast Food Nation - Me and Orson Welles - Bernie - Before Midnight - Boyhood - Everybody Wants Some!! - The Auteurs #57: Richard Linklater Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2016
Based on The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, The Claim is the story about a young surveyor who comes across a town in California during the late 1860s figuring out where to put a railroad while its mayor deals with demons from the past as a woman and her daughter arrives to town. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the film is an exploration into the world of the American West in the aftermath of the Gold Rush and the changing times that is to emerge with the arrival of the railroad. Starring Peter Mullan, Milla Jovovich, Nastassja Kinski, Sarah Polley, Shirley Henderson, and Wes Bentley. The Claim is a mesmerizing yet haunting film from Michael Winterbottom.
Arriving to the town of Kingdom Come is a young surveyor named Donald Dalglish (Wes Bentley) where he works for the Central Pacific Railroad company to find a site where he can put a railroad through California. Accompanied by a group of men who work for the company, Dalglish has to ask the town’s founder and mayor Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan) for permission to survey the land as Dillon grants it as he’s hoping that a railroad through town can increase the business. Meanwhile at the same time, a woman named Elena Burn (Nastassja Kinski) and her daughter Hope (Sarah Polley) arrive asking for Dillon as Hope gives Dillon a cross where Dillon realizes who they are as he’s haunted by memories of how he got the gold in which he traded his wife and baby daughter for gold.
Hope befriends Dalglish as he continues to survey the land around Kingdom Come while Dillon hopes to meet the ailing Elena who is suffering from tuberculosis. While Dillon has a lover in the saloon/brothel owner in the Portuguese-born Lucia (Milla Jovovich), Dillon wants to be with Elena as he tries to give Lucia the deeds to the places she owns as well as some gold bricks but she refuses. Dillon marries Elena as hopes to help her beat her tuberculosis as he also gets to know Hope as her relationship with Dalglish blossoms. After some major setbacks and issues over the land, Dalglish makes the decision to leave town to move the route somewhere nearby and easier leaving Kingdom Come without a promising future. Things get worse for Dillon and the town that would force Dillon to do something in response to what is happening around him.
The film is essentially the story about a mayor who learns about a surveyor who is trying to find a path for a railroad in the hopes that it will bring a lot of things to the town. Yet, he is haunted by the arrival of an ailing woman and her daughter which forces him to confront his past when he first found gold and became rich that led to him finding a town where he became its mayor. Upon their arrival, the mayor hopes to redeem himself and do right for this woman as she’s ill from tuberculosis as well as her daughter. Yet, he faces complications from his lover who owns and runs a saloon and a brothel who is in love with him as well as changing times when it becomes clear that the land near might not be suitable enough to have a railroad nearby or right on his town.
Frank Cottrell Boyce’s screenplay is very multi-layered in the way he presents a world that is changing during the late 1860s just as the arrival of the railroad is happening around the American West. The character of Dalglish is a young man who works for a prestigious railroad company who wants to see where a railroad can be placed in northern California near Sacramento. He becomes the man that places the fate of the town to see if a railroad can help this small town be more well-known as a lot is already happening. At the center of this is a mayor who is hoping for the railroad to come to the town as he is dealing with how he became rich and is hoping to redeem himself to this woman he knew from his past. While it is obvious who this woman and her daughter are to this man based on the flashbacks but Boyce doesn’t dwell on exposition as he just lets the flashback tells the story.
For Daniel Dillon, the arrival of Elena and Hope Burns can give him the chance to not just find redemption but also do right for both of these women but he would alienate his current lover who is also in love with him. Lucia would definitely play part to not just Dillon’s downfall but in unexpected ways since things become more complicated in the third act when Dalglish makes his decision that would be uneasy for Dillon in what he would face. A showdown would occur but since this is not a conventional Western, the showdown would only serve little to what would happen in the third act.
Michael Winterbottom’s direction is definitely ambitious in terms of the world that he recreates though it is shot largely in Canada with some parts in Colorado. Since the story takes place in the winter and in a small town that is in the middle of the mountains. Winterbottom creates a film that is filled with lots of broad images where it takes place in this land as a young surveyor tries to see where to put the railroad and see if he can help this little town. The direction is also big in lots of ways that includes a very memorable scene of a house being pulled down a hill by men and horses. Still, Winterbottom maintains an air of intimacy with his close-ups and in the interior scenes to showcase a world that is thriving but also changing.
Notably as it is about the possibility of a greater future yet Daniel Dillon would face things that he is unprepared for that would make him deal with everything he had been through. Winterbottom’s use of the flashbacks only pop up once in a while though it would tell enough of what is needed without too much exposition. By the time the third act occurs, things definitely get grim where there are aspects of the Western but it’s not a conventional manner. It’s about a whole lot of things but also loss in a grand way. Overall, Winterbottom creates a truly majestic yet harrowing film about changing times and loss set in the American West.
Cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler does brilliant work with the film‘s vast cinematography from the look of the exterior settings to the more evocative lighting schemes for the scenes at night as well as the use of candle lights in the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Trevor Waite does excellent work with editing to play up the intensity of the drama as well as using jump-cuts for certain scenes as it has an air of style throughout the film. Production designers Ken Rempel and Mark Tildesley, along with set decorator Paul Healey, do amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the saloons and homes in the town as they are very elaborate in their presentation to present a world of the American West.
Costume designer Joanna Hansen does superb work with the costumes from the ragged clothes the men wear to the more stylish dresses the women wear during that period. Sound editor Ian Wilson does wonderful work with the sound to capture the raucous atmosphere of the saloons to the harsh sounds of the cold winds. The film’s music by Michael Nyman is truly a highlight of the film as it’s a very low-key yet sweeping operatic orchestral score that plays up to the sense of drama and uncertainty that is prevalent throughout the film.
The casting by Kerry Barden, Wendy Brazington, Billy Hopkins, and Suzanne Smith is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small roles from Shirley Henderson as a prostitute named Annie, Julian Richings as one of Dalglish’s friends in Frank Bellanger, and Barry Ward as the young Dillon. Nastassja Kinski is excellent as the ailing Elena Burn who deals with her illness and her past with Dillon as she hopes that he does the right thing. Milla Jovovich is wonderful as Lucia who deals with the presence of Hope as she tries to hold on to Dillon while being intrigued by Dalglish’s arrival.
Wes Bentley is excellent as Donald Dalglish who deals with the fate he’s carrying as well as what is going on in the town where he would make some drastic decisions in his life. Sarah Polley is superb as Hope Burn who deals with her mother’s illness while falling for Dalglish as she sees a town going through changes. Finally, there’s Peter Mullan in a marvelous performance as Daniel Dillon who deals with his demons and a possible future while hoping to find redemption for his past sins in a world that is changing around him.
The Claim is a remarkable film from Michael Winterbottom and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. Featuring a great ensemble cast that includes Peter Mullan, Sarah Polley, Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, and Nastassja Kinski. It’s a film that definitely showcases a bit of realism into what was happening in the American West. Notably as it’s very different from most films about the West without delving too much into conventions. In the end, The Claim is an extraordinary film from Michael Winterbottom.
Michael Winterbottom Films: (Rosie the Great) - (Forget About Me) - (Under the Sun) - (Love Lies Bleeding) - (Family (1993 TV film)) - (Butterfly Kiss) - (Go Now) - (Jude) - Welcome to Sarajevo - I Want You - (With or Without You) - Wonderland (1999 film) - 24 Hour Party People - In This World - Code 46 - 9 Songs - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story - The Road to Guantanamo - A Mighty Heart - Genova - The Shock Doctrine (2009 film) -The Killer Inside Me - The Trip (2010 film) - (Trishna) - (Everyday (2012 film)) - The Look of Love - (The Trip to Italy) - (The Face of an Angel)
© thevoid99 2012
