140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Shocking, layered, magical, transporting masterpiece – Gus Van Sant burst onto scene with a wholly original film that blew everyone away…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Drugstore Cowboy:
One of the great things about cinema is the ability to peel back the curtain to show the audience something they may have never seen before and expose them to entire ways of life that are completely foreign. Gus Van Sant’s 1989 masterpiece Drugstore Cowboy paints a portrait of the drug lifestyle that is completely unique to anything that had come before and helped to usher in a new age for independent film.
The story by Van Sant and Daniel Yost is based on the then unpublished autobiography of long-time drug addict James Fogle, who robbed drugstores to support his habit. The screenplay follows the character of Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) and his wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch) as they try to keep the high going in Portland, Oregon in 1971 by robbing drugstores with the help of junior junkie couple Rick (James LeGros) & Nadine (Heather Graham in her 2nd film).
Bob and his young protégés are constantly trying to stay high and ahead of the law, pursued by the dogged Detective Gentry (James Remar), whose desire to lock up Bob is matched by an almost fatherly concern for the young thief. Among fellow low-life junkies and cops, can Bob make a change in his life?
The picture is just so good. There’s gritty realism and gallows humor mixed evenly with drug euphoria and dramatic excellence. It’s a fascinating portrait of addiction and low-life thievery in the 1970’s, but the story is really timeless. When the superstitious Bob is driven out of town, Drugstore Cowboy turns into a road picture for its second act, which keeps it very fresh.
The acting is uniformly excellent. This is Dillon’s favorite of his films – it’s certainly his best performance and arguably reinvented him as a serious actor for the second act of his career. All of the supporting players shine in their own way, with Lynch being particularly sympathetic and impressive. There is a small part by William S. Burroughs that is spellbinding and led me into a huge Burroughs phase after seeing him first here.
The film covers the depravity of the junkie lifestyle with unflinching realism but also no small amount of humor. Bob is incredibly charismatic and it’s easy to find the romance in the lifestyle depicted. But Van Sant displays a great sense of timing and tone in the way he contrasts the highs and lows. It was really refreshing and eye-opening at the time, and still plays.
Probably Van Sant’s best picture, Drugstore Cowboy is just as unique as it was on this day 25 years ago. This is a film with something to say and continues to be relevant and important despite the period setting of the tale. Highly recommended…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Matt Dillon Bob, Kelly Lynch Dianne, James Le Gros Rick, Heather Graham Nadine |
| Rating | R |
| Release Date | Sun 01 Oct 1989 UTC |
| Director | Gus Van Sant (as Gus Van Sant Jr.) |
| Genres | Crime, Drama |
| Plot | A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 102 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | James Fogle (novel), Gus Van Sant (as Gus Van Sant Jr.) (screenplay) … |
| Year | 1989 |
