barryagilbert

Simply one of the best American films of the 1990s and one of the greatest examples of American naturalism, there can be few greater examples of a director's genuine fondness for his characters.

With an ensemble cast that has rarely been equaled, you don't need to be from Texas to be reminded of your high school days and of the excitement and pressures of bein' young. The dozen or so main characters are augmented by dozens more we see only in glimpses - the annoyed girl left mid-kiss, the easy-going washed up convenience clerk, the clumsy girl who laughs at herself after a face-forward fall. Linklater has populated a world with easy-going profundity and a warmth that matches the summer of '76 portrayed.

I'm not usually a Wesley Snipes fan but here his zen-like demeanor is put to good use as the underdog in a match between the world champeen and the local hero in a maximum security prison. This film feels like an example of the old adage that a small budget often results in greater creativity. Just feels like some old pros f***ing around with a genre film, having a good time, and the thing is quite fun so long as you're comfortable with some updated cinematic cliches, a weird Peter Falk and you're not the type who always needs a message in their cinema. Very good fight scenes.

I loved "The Celebration" and was very disappointed when I saw this at Sundance. In brief, this suffers from the same delusion as "Eyes Wide Shut": namely that implication = meaning. There is implied tension, implied sexuality and an implied conspiracy, none of which are delved into, and a barrage of imagery that is neither satisfactorily abstract nor clearly explicated. Joaquin Phoenix is too passive to be much of a lead and Claire Danes, while beautiful, lacks depth. The picture IS gorgeous, and kudos to the DP and design team.