This is one of those few films that builds up a wall of atmosphere around you and doesn't break it down until the movie's over. The lighting for Nowhere should have won a damned Oscar, and the performances are just how they should be: so by-the-numbers that they create the plastic, artificial/superficial feel director Gregg Araki was obviously striving for. This one is so cartoonish you'd think Ralph Bakshi made it at times, never letting anyone truly act, simply saying their lines with smarm and bravado.
This flick also represents the uncertainty that exists when teenagers go out at night. It seems that everyone is being pulled in by the magnet of a party, but the roads which may or may not lead them there are the fun in watching. Araki effectively builds up a strong cast of aquaintances, making you want to see such characters as Dingbat and Dark in everyday, artificial, bubblegum high school class. The bizarre alien subplot is a daring direction to go in, but it is forgiven when as the credits roll, all you can think about is the seemingly endless haze of moody aura that entranced you for eighty two fascinating minutes.
