Aptly described by Araki as “Beverly Hills 90210 on acid,” Nowhere features a sterling cast of has-beens and yet-to-bes—including Shannen Doherty, Traci Lords, Rose McGowan, Ryan Phillipe, Heather Graham, Mena Suvari, Christina Applegate, John Ritter and Beverly D’Angelo—tooling around Los Angeles in a drug- and sex-fuelled haze set to a soundtrack featuring Radiohead, Elastica, Hole and Massive Attack. Araki muse James Duval anchors this bizarre constellation as Dark, a sexually fluid aspiring filmmaker whose seemingly ordinary day takes a turn for the seriously weird as he makes his way to a friend’s party. As S&M, mutilation, murder, suicide and alien abduction complicate matters, Dark discovers that it’s not easy having a good time. “A live-action cartoon that might be described as a surreal American Graffiti crossed with a kinky Beverly Hills 90210 as imagined by a punked-out acolyte of John Waters or Andy Warhol” (Stephen Holden, The New York Times). –TIFF
One of the angriest, most unconventional, and relentlessly intriguing voices in independent cinema, filmmaker Gregg Araki emerged on the film scene with the subtlety of a gunshot to the head with The Living End in 1992. His story of two HIV-positive gay lovers on a highway rampage quickly established him as one of the key figures in the “New Queer Cinema.” The film reached out to many of society’s more alienated members—gay and straight—who related to its energetic rage and identified with the anger of its principle characters.
Of Asian-American heritage, Araki is a native of Southern California. After attending film school at the University of Southern California—where he was particularly influenced by screwball comedies such as Bringing Up Baby— he made his directorial debut in 1987 with Three Bewildered People in the Night. With a budget of only $5,000 and using a stationary camera, he told the story of a romance between a video artist, her lover… read more
A 90s wet dream. Which 90s icon ISN'T in this movie? James Duval is a total Baldwin.
This plays like a demented , warped satire of BEVERY HILLS 90210 and teen movies and culture of the 90’s.
The film takes place over one day in california. It follows a group of teen friends… read review
Being born and raised in Los Angeles I have come to the realization it’s a very odd place.
I was walking down Hollywood blvd. with a really cute guy when we suddenly stopped because he told me… read review
Superb Film and one of my favorite’s by Gregg Araki to date. A young teenager (James Duval) has a bad day as several of his friends are abducted by aliens, commit suicide or just get very messed up… read review
Strange? Indeed. Good? Absolutely not. For even marginal enjoyment, moderate to complete inebriation is highly recommended. And I don’t say this for any contempt I have for the film, just that… read review