Nowhere (1997) Reviews

• The Revival of trash! Sweet ‘n pure TRASH!!

  Coventry2004-02-25

  What Gregg Araki presents to us here is nothing but good old-fashioned trash! Giving us a taste of the glorious Russ Meyer reign during the sixties and seventies, which is a terribly ignored field of cult-cinema. Simply put, this film is extremely COOL to look at! The title is very appropriate because this film indeed leads to nowhere and it's Gregg Araki's view on the subject of teen-alienation. Without even trying, he beats that other overrated director Larry Clark who takes himself way too serious anyway. Nowhere constantly introduces kinky and eccentric characters, each and every one of them suffering from modern diseases and problems like drugs, eating disorders, nymphomania, hallucinations, aggression and even suicide! Araki even touches the more daily problems like popularity and faithfulness. The pivot in this hysterical bunch is Dark, an utterly confused, bisexual young man who's convinced that he's going to die soon. Dark is played by James Duval, an over-talented young actor and building up a solid cult-reputation through starring in other goodies like ‘Donnie Darko' and ‘May'. Duval also was the key figure in the previous entries of Araki's apocalyptic trilogy, carrying the very imaginative titles `Totally F***ed Up' and `The Doom Generation'. Both films that come with my highest possible recommendation as well, but I'm strongly convinced that Nowhere is Araki's best and most personal achievement. It just is a magnificent series of hilariously messed up conversations and actions, leading towards a truly insane anti-climax. I can easily imagine that mainstream film-audiences will absolutely loath this film, but I'm a giant fan…and Araki can be sure of the fact that his film already built up a cult-following by now. It's truly remarkable how Gregg Araki managed to work with such an overly well-known and talented cast. Practically every little role in Nowhere is credited with a famous name of the young and upcoming Hollywood generation. In the tiniest, most meaningless figures, you'll recognize faces like Heather Graham, Shannen Doherthy, Stacy Keanen, Scott Caan, Ryan Phillipe, Jordan Ladd, Mena Suvari and many, many more… The absolute highlights however, are the cameos by multiple veterans like Beverly D'Angelo as Dark's slutty mother and especially John Ritter as a religion guru on TV. You hear it, there's so much to discover in this film…I can't praise it enough!

• you guys missed the point.

  JoshuaBlue2001-05-29

  reading the reviews already posted for this movie... I am saddened that so many people missed the point. it is about nothing and it is nowhere... as is just about everything that is popular now-a-days. this movie is about the absolute emptiness of pop culture and the absolute emptiness of most people's minds. I think most of you that didn't like this movie.. are either those being made fun of... or are so far out of anything doing with popular culture for you to get the joke. secondly - this is a drug movie. i'm betting the average rating by people who've done acid is about 8.0 and the average for the others is about 3.0 --- check out the symbolism --- check out the colors --- check out the sound. this culture is absolutely devoid of meaning - and that's all - and that's all.

• There's Something About..."Nowhere"

  SamLowry-21999-03-17

  Gregg Araki can be faulted for not inviting the "main stream" audience into his "vision" of the world. But this probably isn't really a goal of his, anyway. As I watched "Nowhere" in the theater (twice in one week) I was filled with awe that something I had always felt had been so colorfully put on celluloid: finding love is all that matters, but the world isn't designed to make that finding easy. So when "Dark" finds an amazingly true moment amongst the usual Araki violence, hilarity, sex and clutter (a moment to simply relax and hold the person in the bed next to him) it rings true to the heart of experience. The movie ends in the next moment with an equally true touch. So, the sooner we find love, the sooner it can find its own reason to leave us. Araki's best film. If you don't get it, then he probably doesn't want you to.

• I liked it

  AspiringDirector2007-07-31

  I caught this film on IFC on some late night where I couldn't sleep. This film is a trip and a half. The colors are bold and the film is really about teenagers figuring out their place in life. The dialog is absolutely hilarious. I, myself, am a teenager and the stereotypical script really seemed to fit. Every character in this film, in my opinion, is just part of a high school stereotype that you get placed into during that age. Whether it be the awkward girl who wants to fit in, sex rampaging freaks or just some young 16 year olds trying to find a hoppin party. I wish I could find this movie on DVD. Really generation defining in my opinion. Try to not listen to the people who bash this movie saying it's trash and all of that. Well ... it is trash but the movie "knows" it's trashy and low-brow; so I guess it can pull it off. I'm actually surprised I haven't heard of it until now. Find it and watch it.

• An artistically exquisite comment on the lives of 90's kids...

  Slanky-21999-11-30

  Nowhere is the type of film that you either get and love, or don't get and hate. Aside from it's brilliantly artistic cinematography and art direction, it's a pretty accurate representation of life as a modern-day adolescent. As strange as this comment may seem, it does hold true. The events presented are, in fact, realities of the lives of today's young people: sex, drug use, suicide, and mental illness are all dealt with in some way or another. For some, it is truly like being on acid. For those of us that have blocked out the traumatic parts of growing up, then it is understandable why you don't understand this movie. The way each issue is presented is the genius of the art: Each character and their emotional impact is presented artistically as well as dramatically. Although the entire movie is not relevant to everyone, I would strongly suggest watching it for at least the artistic merit. Even if you don't understand it or it doesn't apply to you, understand that it is relevant to some.