American indie god Gus Van Sant's most iconic moment was this giddily rich revisionist road movie-cum-western, which unfolds like Midnight Cowboy in an early '90s "new queer cinema" style. River Phoenix plays a narcoleptic hustler, superbly; Keanu Reeves is the hunky hustler he pines for. The rest mixes Shakespearean wordplay with dazzling neon decor and documentary grit, which should normally be a mess. Miraculously, Van Sant and co focus it with art and a lot of heart.
Read the full My Own Private Idaho review
Comments