Day 78 - Slacker



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