Cinema Styles: Universality and Specificity Converge in Dazed and Confused
Film: Dazed and Confused (1993) Director: Richard Linklater Cast: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew Mcconaughey, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Rory Cochrane, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp How to Watch: Prime Runtime: 103 minutes Genre: Comedy Rating: R Cinema Styles: Universality, specificity converge in Dazed and Confused
Note: This review is part of our legacy series. Dazed and Confused celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Richard Linklater's 1993 cult classic Dazed and Confused is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The film chronicles a day in the life of various students on the last day of school in a small town in Texas in 1976. The upperclassmen are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is looking to find a party to kickstart the summer. The film features a consistently incredible soundtrack and one of the best acting ensembles of its era.
Dazed and Confused is the archetypal teenager film, last day of high school movie, and 1970's throwback film. It seamlessly transports viewers to that era through the close attention to detail in the costumes and production design. This movie is a snapshot of a moment in time, and is most concerned with capturing the feeling and essence of a specific time and place. Audiences looking for an intricate plot should look elsewhere. This film has often been described as a “hang out” movie because that's what the characters do most of the time and it's also a great film to put on in the background while hanging out with one's own friends.
The one consistent throughline in the film is everyone is striving to find a party of some kind. Very little actually “happens” in the movie, but this is quite intentional. As a 90's film reflecting on the 70's, this movie frames itself as a story about memory itself. When we look back on our youth, it's often the individuals we remember more than the actual events that happened. Thus, this film focuses more on character development than plot development, and that's part of what makes it so exceptional.
Once the students finally make it to the party, their conversations turn from a yearning for partying to an almost existential dread about their uncertain futures. This film focuses on the important moment in a young person's life when they're making the decisions that will set the course for the rest of their lives. This film is concerned with that transition from carefree children to independent adults whose every decision is increasingly consequential.
The cast in this film is absolutely legendary, and most of the actors were not yet famous at the time of this movie's release. Richard Linklater has always been skilled at finding the right actors for his movies, but the balancing act of having such an amazing ensemble is possibly the most impressive aspect of his movie. Most notable (and problematic) is Matthew Mcconaughey as a predatory guy in his 20's that consistently pursues high school girls because he “gets older, but they stay the same age.” This quote is joined by several others that have become fused with Mcconaughey's entire personality. His drawl as he says “alright alright alright” practically became his catch phrase, and his character's philosophy of “just keep livin” inspired his current production company: JKL Productions.
Richard Linklater is one of the most underrated directors of all time. Each of his films is drastically different from the others. His versatility is admirable, and his movies consistently have superb dialogue and a fascinating preoccupation with time. Linklater famously made The Before Trilogy over the course of 20 years and spent 12 years uninterrupted making his Oscar-winning movie Boyhood. All of this makes it even more interesting Dazed and Confused is set over the course of one day only. Much of what occurs in this movie is based on events that happened in Linklater's own life.
Dazed and Confused is one of the funniest and most endlessly quotable coming-ofage films of all time. It bypasses nostalgia, and instead looks at the past with its warts and all. It confronts the “best years of our lives” cliche with the reality of the anxiety, boredom, and uncertainty inherent in our teenage years. It's a film made with tender reverence and enthusiastic authenticity for the memories it's striving to recall in the viewers. It's a time capsule that serves as more of a feeling than a film, but that's what makes it so unique. It encompasses the essence of the era it's set. While it's incredibly specific about its time and place, it's also remarkably universal. These memories are Linklater's own, but the feelings are relatable and transferable to whomever is watching.
Bobby Styles studied Film at UCLA, and worked as an editor and producer on several film, commercial, and music video projects in Los Angeles. He currently teaches the intermediate and advanced Video Production courses in the Multimedia & Technology Academy at Monache High School. His column appears weekly in The Recorder.