Dazed and Confused
Directed by: Richard Linklater
(Criterion)
One of the best movies of the 1990s finally gets its rightful treatment. Set on the last day of school in suburban Texas in 1976, Dazed and Confused follows kids within two age ranges—Grade 8 and Grade 11—just before their lives merge in high school. The release of this funny, knowing, poignant film was mishandled by parent studio Universal, which the normally affable Linklater starts in on from the moment its logo appears. His rather bitter commentary still comes off well thanks to his easy-going charm and excited reminiscences of the events, lines and details he plucked from his own life for the film. The Criterion treatment is a beautifully packaged two discs full of archival video, including audition tapes and on-set interviews. It now seems ridiculous but it had no stars when it was released in 1993—the cast included Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Cole Hauser, Renee Zellweger (in a cameo) and the film debuts of Matthew McConaughey and Parker Posey. Infinitely more than a cult stoner movie, Dazed and Confused is a coming-of-age film that captures how teenagers hang in the moment, where lives can change in a night and how no direction is still a direction. In an undervalued career of unpredictability, Linklater’s second film remains his masterwork, studio be damned.
—Tara Thorne
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.