Between Two Decades, Richard Linklater Goes From High School to College

From left: Glen Powell, Wyatt Russell, Blake Jenner,
Quinton Johnson, and Temple Baker in "Everybody Wants Some!!"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

In 1993, director Richard Linklater gifted audiences with a nostalgic trip back to the ‘70s with “Dazed and Confused,” a fun and fascinating coming-of-age comedy that follows a group of Texas teenagers in 1976 as they celebrate the end of the school year.  What Linklater was able to do with this film was not just capture the feel of the decade, but a high-school story that can relate to any generation, despite its time period.

He now brings us to college as he treats us to another blast from the past with the ‘80s-set “Everybody Wants Some!!”  Although you may feel like this is just an ‘80s version of “Dazed and Confused,” it’s not.  Despite some similarities in the narrative structure, this film tells a different story and continues to prove that Linklater is one of the best directors to tackle the subject of growing up.

In the fall of 1980, Jake (Blake Jenner) is a star pitcher from his high-school baseball team and is getting ready to play for college.  Once he arrives on campus, he moves into the house he will be sharing with his teammates, including Glen (Tyler Hoechlin), Roper (Ryan Guzman), Finnegan (Glen Powell), Dale (Quinton Johnson), and Plummer (Temple Baker).  While some tension arises between the new recruits and the older players, they decide to live it up during the three days leading up to the start of classes, all the while acknowledging the responsibilities that come with being a team.

Similar to what Linklater did with “Dazed and Confused,” he compiles his cast with actors who are relatively low-profile or up-and-comers, and this allows for the interactions between the characters to feel more natural, which is something the film wouldn’t have been able to achieve if the movie was filled with big-name stars.  The entire cast has a chemistry that feels so natural throughout the film, and it makes us feel as though we’re experiencing candid dialogues caught on camera.  What’s best is that cast members aren’t asked to portray the college caricatures that films have shown us in the past, but are instead depicted as real people experiencing real life, and this is what makes us able to empathize with them.

As with “Dazed and Confused,” Linklater’s screenplay doesn’t have something in the way of an actual plot because the narrative is really just about following the main group during their on- and off-campus antics and focusing on the dynamics of all of the different personalities within the group.  Although there may not be much of a story happening on the surface, there are glimmers of something deeper within the dialogue that highlights the characters’ feelings for each other and their thoughts on college life.

If you have seen “Dazed and Confused,” you’ll remember how one of the most interesting parts of that movie was the hierarchy of the seniors over the freshmen.  In this film, Linklater has a few doses of that between the characters, but he doesn't try to copy it.  Where “Dazed and Confused” dealt with the seniors’ lighthearted hazing of the freshmen, “Everybody Wants Some!!” mostly deals with the competitive nature between the lower and upperclassmen, how they try to prove themselves to one another, and the seniors facing the notion of leaving their glory behind and being replaced by the younger players upon graduation.

Although nostalgia was a big part of the magic for “Dazed and Confused,” you have to admire Linklater for not doing the easy thing by taking that route into the ‘80s.  He doesn’t set out to evoke nostalgia for the ‘80s, which makes “Everybody Wants Some!!” a film that just happens to take place in that decade.  The heavy nostalgia worked for “Dazed and Confused” because of how it showed the youthful exuberance that the characters felt; and although we see the fun times of youth experienced by the characters in “Everybody Wants Some!!,” the nostalgia mostly takes a back seat because the film is more about those characters coming to terms with the demands and responsibilities of post high-school life.

Linklater continues the trend in knowing how to chronicle the journeys of his young characters as they go through the times that will shape their lives, just like with “Dazed and Confused,” “Boyhood,” and “School of Rock.”  His films have an element of truth to them that present these characters and scenarios with a sense of realism, allowing us to see ourselves in his films and prompt us to recall our own youthful experiences and the ups and downs we had during those times.  

They say college offers you some of the best years of your life, and with “Everybody Wants Some!!,” Linklater has the memories of those years come flooding back.

Grade: A   

Fate Flying in the Air, Fate Decided Behind Closed Doors

Helen Mirren in "Eye in the Sky"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

In films with war at the focus, we view the fighting between armies and the horrors of the battlefield.  In a select few, however, we mainly see the war from the other side, the side that acts as a behind-the-scenes of what’s going on, similar to Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty.”  It is in these films where we see the makings of some of the biggest decisions of the conflicts presented.

Director Gavin Hood uses this approach to wartime storytelling in his thriller “Eye in the Sky,” a film that thrives on unwavering suspense, superb acting, tense direction, and questions of morals in a time of war.

Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren), a military intelligence officer, is tasked with capturing Al-Shabaab extremists who are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.  When a drone presents aerial surveillance that show the possibility of the extremists planning another suicide bombing, Powell changes the mission from “capture” to “kill.”  However, there are other officials who are hesitant to move forward with such a decision that could potentially kill any civilians who are within close range of the target.  Powell, among others, soon find themselves in a debate about the proper course of action to take before time runs out.

Mirren delivers a performance that comes from a different angle than what I anticipated.  Going into the film, I expected her character to me the morally conflicted center of the story as to whether or not to go ahead with the drone strike.  Instead, her character is determined to take out her targets, leaving the audience to decide if they agree with her suggested course of action.  This is another strong performance from Mirren, and the power she puts into it helps us get invested in her dilemma and question whether or not she’s doing the right thing.

Other than Mirren, the film comes complete with many terrific supporting performances, including Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi, Phoebe Fox, and the penultimate performance by Alan Rickman, who passed away earlier this year.

The screenplay by Guy Hibbert poses questions regarding the ethics behind the use of drones in modern warfare.  Amidst the tension risen by the situation, we are taken back and forth from all parties that are participating in the discussions on what should be done with the time-sensitive matter at hand.  He creates a well-paced story that builds on its edge-of-your-seat scenario and presents all points of view in great detail that provide us with a window into what’s going through the minds of the characters as they try to agree on how to handle the delicate situation.

Even though most of the film is dialogue-driven, director Hood keeps the suspense going with the heated debates that constantly reveal layers to the legal and ethical difficulties with the film’s scenario.  He successfully builds the pressure from the start of the film when the mission is presented to when time dwindles down and a decision has to be made about to do.  

“Eye in the Sky” poses questions that will probably have you switching between the viewpoints as you watch the film, and this all makes for a compelling and thought-provoking viewing experience.

Grade: A