Text: Jared Stalder

Gus Van Sant has had a rollercoaster of a directorial career. His art house beginnings opened the eyes of the cinematic world with his unique camera flow and use of homosexuality as part of the story.  The 90’s were a bit bumpy; My Own Private Idaho was successful and there was some success with To Die For. But then Van Sant entered the mainstream with successes for the masses but disappointments for many fans.

Van Sant’s return to art house style flicks has been interesting and more successful than anticipated (some think because of his accomplishment with the mainstream movies).  His most recent work, Milk shows us that he can inject his style with a story that is poignant to many; art house for the masses.

You don’t have to like all of Van Sant’s movies to appreciate what he has brought to the cinematic table.  Whether or not you’re fan, you have to admit that his work is full of surprises and creativity.

Mala Noche (1985)

Van Sant’s first feature length film, Mala Noche started the ball rolling for his directorial style and earned him almost overnight acclaim. Walt, a homosexual store clerk falls for a young, Mexican boy Johnny who is frightened off by Walt’s advances. Walt won’t give up and lusts after Johnny who doesn’t speak English and finds Walt odd and undesirable. While this film about unrequited love may sound like a typical gay flick, it is nothing of the sort. Filmed in black and white, shot in Portland Oregon, narrated by the main character and using homosexuality as the story instead of abusing it as a political pedestal, set the stage for Van Sant’s later work. Mala Noche has become a cult classic for many who view this as a blueprint of his avant-garde style.

*Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) is addicted to prescription medication and along with his “family” of drug addicts, invades the Pacific Northwest “Bonnie and Clyde” style, knocking off pharmacies for their needed vice.   The characters aren’t necessarily bad people, but people who let their addiction control their lives.  The “family” of four finding comfort with like-minded/obsessed people is a big part of this movie; how they interact and have a common goal.

Drugstore Cowboy is considered Van Sant’s first hit and introduced lead Matt Dillon as something more than just a pretty face. As with many of his films, Van Sant highlights disturbing situations in a normal, honest light.  We see a part of America that is misunderstood, unknown or simply ignored.  Drug addicts are in a vicious cycle of being depressed without drugs but it’s drugs that put them in that depressed state.

Bob realizes that things are out of control and he must quit drugs to get his life in order.  This means leaving his wife and posse and entering a rehab program.  The small cameo by William Burroughs (late novelist and ex-opiate addict) as a defrocked priest and heroin addict talking to Bob about drugs is eerily appropriate although criticized by some.   Bob starts to see the light at the end of the tunnel but will just quitting drugs fix his life?

Drugstore Cowboy is considered a classic and the film that launched Van Sant’s career; it was his first commercial success.  We can see his directorial style evolve yet still bring us his expected creativity in storytelling. Again, he has taken us to a dark place where we see demons exposed but not without direction or hope.

*My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Like Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho is about a rarely explored world of people not accepted and therefore misunderstood by society.  The story focuses on two hustlers, Mike Waters (River Phoenix) and Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) who live on the streets of Portland Oregon.  They sell their bodies (to men and women) and do drugs but the real focus of the movie is their odd relationship.  Mike is gay and has narcolepsy.  Scott is a rebel who has broken away from his well to do family and insists that his street life is only temporary and meant to embarrass his father. Mike is in love with Scott which adds to the obsessive and complicated relationship.

The probable cause of Mike’s psychological problems is his abandonment by his mother as a child.  Scott and Mike set out to find his mother, a quest that takes them to Idaho and Italy.  Along the way they discover more about each other and we see Mike’s dependency on Scott, physically and emotionally.

My Own Private Idaho had been a project of Van Sant’s for a number of years prior to its eventual production.  Studios weren’t willing to consider the film due to its controversial and unappealing content.  After Van Sant’s “street cred” improved with Drugstore Cowboy, it received a bit more interest but studios still wanted to make their own versions. Van Sant refused to compromise and eventually New Line Cinemas backed the project.  He was just as persistent with getting his two leads, Reeves and Phoenix.

My Own Private Idaho can not be considered a gay film since the gay aspect of the film is merely part of the movie (even less than Mala Noche).  It’s about co-dependency, good and bad. His creative camera angles and pauses convey the characters views in a not-so-obvious way that is one of Van Sant’s best talents. It’s easy to see why many regard this movie as his best.

With all of the acclaim and success of Cowboy and Idaho, it’s hard to believe that Van Sant’s momentum would be interrupted but Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was a commercial and critical flop.  Sissy (Uma Thurman) is born with enormously large thumbs and uses them to her advantage by becoming a hitchhiker.  Many sensitive issues are explored in a quirky way; so many that it may have been the downfall of the film.  Some blame the adaptation (or lack of) from the novel to the screen while others critique the work of the supporting actors.  In any case, Van Sant injected his creative style of directing and before Cowgirls was in cinemas, he was working on his next film.

To Die For (1995)

After the let down of Cowgirls Van Sant needed a film to revive his luster and To Die For was the answer.  It was a different direction for him as the film was a dark comedy and not as “heavy” as past works.  Suzanne (Nicole Kidman) will do anything to become a famous news anchor, including having her husband murdered.  She seduces a high school student (Joaquin Phoenix) and wants him to do her dirty work.  A truly wild ride ensues and we’re left laughing and shaking our heads in amusement and disbelief.  To Die For was Van Sant’s first work with a major studio and lead to his ability to be trusted with his cinematic vision.

Mainstream acceptance came to Van Sant in 1997 with the film Good Will Hunting, written by and starring the then little known Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.  Without a strong hand in the writing, we can see Van Sant’s lack of influence in the storyline.  While this may be considered as a sell-out by some followers and artists, it may very well be what allowed it to gain popularity.  While it still deals with emotional issues, it’s not the same as his previous films.  It doesn’t revolve around murderers, drug addicts or gays.  He is the director, not the storyteller.

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a mathematical genius who has had a troubled childhood and problems with the law.  While working as a janitor at MIT he gets discovered by a professor and a chain of events leads him to seek counseling from Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a therapist with his own demons in his closet. And in true Hollywood form there is a love interest played by Minnie Driver which adds to Will’s emotional struggle.  In the end, both Will and Sean are able to learn from each other.

It’s hard not to like the story which is why it was so popular at the box office.  A troubled genius from the wrong side of the tracks always pulls in the crowds.  The movie was hailed a masterpiece by critics and received several nominations (including Van Sant for Best Director) and wins for the screenplay including a Golden Globe and Oscar.

Unfortunately a lot of Van Sant is not seen in the film but there are hints.  The camera angles and provoking pauses remind you of the Sant-isms.  There’s also an obvious (if you’re looking for it) attention to the male form with long pauses on Damon’s glowing face. So is it a bad thing that such a retreat from his typical filmmaking propelled him into the mainstream?  It’s an enjoyable film and he did an amazing job.  That’s the end of the story for me. I say well done but others will disagree.

Psycho (1998)

After the raging success of Good Will Hunting, Van Sant was given the opportunity to direct Psycho a remake of the 1960 Hitchcock black and white original.  Marion Crane (Heche) steals $400k in cash from her work and while on the way to her boyfriends she stops for a night at the Bates Motel.  Norman Bates, who runs the motel, is an odd character who is dominated by his mother who lives with him in the spooky house behind the motel.  When Marion ends up missing for a week a search is launched and a detective stumbles upon the Bates Motel.  The film was shot in color using A-list celebs including Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore and those were the only major changes; Van Sant chose to recreate the film shot-for-shot to the original.  While Van Sant certainly injected his style, the film was criticized pre and post production; was it a true remake if it was filmed shot-for-shot?  While the film wasn’t a failure, it wasn’t a success either.

Finding Forrester (2000)

African-American inner city kid, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is an exceptional basketball player and when he gets high scores on an exam, he is sent to a prestigious school.   He struggles with the new school and work load but knows that he’s there for his athletic skills.  Jamal needs to find balance and soon befriends a reclusive writer, William Forrester (Sean Connery).  Sound familiar?  Again it was made to be a crowd pleaser, much like Good Will Hunting. Van Sant was praised for his work with the lead actors, making scenes with newbie Brown and old-timer Connery feel natural.  While many of the Van Sant-isms are not as prevalent in Forrester, reviews of the film were mostly positive.

Gerry was Van Sant’s return to art-house cinema and thus he decided to abandon big budget studios.  Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who are both named Gerry, wonder the desert talking about nothing in particular, which makes it intriguing for some and dull for others.  Much of the film was improvised, a big break from standard big studio films and lending Van Sant praise for, if anything else, doing something different.  It received praise in some circles but had a hard time catching on for the masses; it took over a year for the film to hit theatres.  Still, it created a discussion piece for followers of Van Sant’s work which may be just what he wanted.

*Elephant (2003)

Van Sant worked next with producer Diane Keaton on a film based on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.  Elephant (as in the elephant in the room that everyone’s ignoring) was shot in Portland and used mostly untrained teenage actors to create an ordinary high school day that turns disastrous.   The film starts with John, a teen dealing with a father who is a drunkard.  The camera follows his day of school, introducing us to other characters, some only for a few seconds.  We soon understand that the film will have us follow these other students in school; the loner, the jock, the cheerleader types, etc.

Alex and Eric are two seemingly harmless guys who are constantly bullied at school.  They are shown ordering weapons online and then later in the film waiting for a weapon to arrive in the mail with a clip of a Adolph Hitler documentary on TV.  It’s clear who the shooters are going to be but less clear as to why they are doing it and what drives them.  They are shown playing a violent video game which is a suspected influence in the Columbine massacre.  They eerily go about their lives as if nothing is new, plotting the attack and treating weapons as toys.  The biggest (and most controversial) shot of the film is Alex stepping in the shower and soon after Eric joining him.  They both kiss and we are left wondering what it means.  Van Sant says that it wasn’t gay necessarily but instead “that they are inexperienced, innocent kids.”

Van Sant used many of the same camera actions he did in Gerry, such as long takes to let the audience ponder the surroundings.  Elephant had strong reactions (good and bad) at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.  In any case it won the top prize, the Palme d’Or and Van Sant won Best Director.  Unfortunately, the film didn’t get the attention it should have by US audiences.  It had limited release and the content might have been too fresh for sensitive audiences.  In any case, Van Sant made an intriguing film and with many of the Sant-isms critics and supporters favor.

Last Days (2005)

Third in the Van Sant titled “Death Trilogy” (the others being Gerry and Elephant) won no awards but still made quite a stir.  Last Days is a fictionalized film about the final days of Kurt Cobain (late frontman of Nirvana).  Blake (Michael Pitt) is a rock star who chooses isolation as a way to escape.  Much of the film follows Blake’s isolation and him ignoring those trying to help him. It is assumed that Blake commits suicide but we are left with some questions just as with Cobain’s death.  Again, it was a film that was a break from the mainstream and a continuation of the art house style that Van Sant fans appreciate.

Alex (Gabe Nevins) likes to skateboard and wants to fit in with the other skaters, some of them sketchy characters.  He accidentally causes the death of a guard and disposes of all evidence of the crime.  Detectives are investigating the incident and find evidence linking it to a skater.  Keeping the incident quiet is emotionally challenging and Alex decides to write down what’s upsetting him.  Paranoid Park won the 60th Anniversary Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and received mostly positive reviews from critics.  Van Sant again showed us his break from the mainstream was successful.

*Milk (2008)

Milk has been on the shelf for a while; it started in 1992 when Van Sant was chosen by Warner to direct The Mayor of Castro Street, produced by Oliver Stone.  Van Sant split from Warner Bros. Studio soon after due to creative differences.  The project was revived in 2007; Sean Penn was chosen to play Harvey Milk and Josh Brolin (it was originally Van Sant favorite Matt Damon, but there were scheduling conflicts) as his assassin.

Not only is the story a moving one but the cast and, in particular, Van Sant’s directorial style is the highlight of the film.  From camera angles to pauses and fluidity we can see Van Sant’s hand in everything.  This time a film has the appeal to draw a wider audience and still give us that artistic direction, something not achieved with most previous art house-style films.  The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and has been nominated for an Oscar.  Both Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant are up for an Oscar as well.  We look forward to the next creative rabbit Van Sant pulls out of his hat.

For a complete review of Milk, including a synopsis, see movie section.