Day 78 Slacker [1991]
Screenplay Richard Linklater
Director Richard
Linklater
Cinematography Lee
Daniel
Leads Richard Linklater
and ensemble cast
Production Richard Linklater
IMDb 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes 85%
I love finding original films that I’ve never
heard of. This is one of them. After watching Dazed and Confused (Day 52)
I thought I should check some of Linklater’s other stuff out. I didn’t like Boyhood
that much, School of Rock is fun, and Everybody Wants Some was
just a bit too chilled out. I therefore turned to Linklater’s first movie: Slacker.
I don’t quite know how to summarise it. Although I don’t think I need to,
because Linklater does it himself in the very first scene. He talks about
separate realities, making a point similar to the butterfly effect argument. The
camera follows a chain reaction of events, that don’t follow on from each other
story-wise, they just provide snapshots of different people in different situations,
who happen to cross paths that day. It sounds like it would be annoying, not giving
any depth to any of the characters, but far from it. Each personality is so
wonderfully wacky and interesting. They are some of the best monologues I’ve
ever heard in a film, especially ‘been on the moon since the 50s’, ‘pap smear
pusher’ and ‘Scooby Doo philosopher’ as the characters are fantastically
credited. There isn’t much music, but what’s there works perfectly. The film
was incredibly low budget, so the camera is basic, but it is filmed cleverly. Excellent
debut from Linklater. If you want something super indie, away from Hollywood
and awards, this is your film.
Acting 3.5
/ 4
Writing 4
/ 4
Cinematography 3.5
/ 4
Music 2.5
/ 4
HWF
rating 3.5 / 4