150 Word Review: 'My Own Private Idaho' (1991)
Midnight cowboys
River Phoenix is gutting as a narcoleptic hustler in director Gus Van Sant’s raw, offbeat reimagining of Shakespeare’s Henry plays, My Own Private Idaho. Phoenix died at 23, and it’s fashionable to speculate about the future he didn’t have. He was always a vulnerable, deeply moving screen presence, and this is one of his finest performances. He was always a natural.
Phoenix’s Mikey is in love with Keanu Reeves’ Scott, son of the mayor, a rich kid slumming it with queer street kids.
William Richert is Bob, Scott’s Falstaff, a portly rogue surrounded by Artful Dodgers. This is Van Sant’s masterpiece, in my opinion. Witty, raw, bittersweet. Ahead of its time. The sex scenes are unexpectedly droll. Scott is biding his time. Van Sant’s vision of America is still crystal clear: it’s a vast, lonely place. Mikey is lost, looking for love; there’s so little of it in this life.
From The Archive: ‘Chimes At Midnight’ (1965)
