Dazed and Confused (Linklater, 1993)

Dazed and Confused (1993)

"Dazed & Confused" is the best kind of teen movie because it has no axe to grind. Although it is of a certain place and time (America in the 70s) it’s a film any guy and girl can relate to. The characters question each other towards the end: "Hey, do you think when we look back...will these be the best years of our life?" When you get your audience in a position where they want to answer you, the film has worked its magic.

Linklater's "Dazed & Confused" is an earnest time capsule; about the last 24 hours in school for Class of 1976 in Lee High School. It's a comedy and drama just as life in high school usually is. We'll find archetypal characters sin the story: college dropouts like Mathew McConahey's character who refuses to grow up; overzealous bullies like Ben Affleck's character who takes sadistic pleasure and chasing down nubile freshmen; there's even the trio of pop philosophers who look down upon the ianity of the populist crowd but secretly desire to "fit in." The narrative is episodic as it should be; using the technique he pioneered in "Slacker," Linklater's camera goes from one individual or group of individuals to the next as the audience is left to play voyeurs. Well-shot.

Even if its set in the 70s, and for people who went to school during the period (they will find much nostalgia from the bongs, pot, how "the community silently accepts and acknowledges hazing") "Dazed and Confused" is a film that will warm the heart of anyone who has ever asked himself "what will I do with my life" after the safety and shelter of school. ak

Rating:

1/2 out of