It's This Fucking Life

Two of my favorite films of all time were released in 1989. One of them is Drugstore Cowboy. I don't know where to begin with how great this movie is, but let's start with the casting. It stars Matt Dillon in the performance of a lifetime. I only knew Matt as the tough guy in teen films of the early 80's. But it was a great choice to cast him as the lead. I didn't know Matt had it in him. Then you've got Kelly Lynch as Matt's partner in crime. They play the mother and father figures in a crew of drug addicts who rob drugstores, trade drugs and evade police in early 70's Portland, Oregon. Heather Graham and James Le Gros play the younger couple in the crew. Character actors Max Perlich and James Remar give great performances as a junkie and a cop, respectively. Plus there's William S. Burroughs playing a disgraced junkie priest.

The cinematography is beautiful, and director Gus Van Sant adds some experimental film touches when Matt's character hallucinates, as pictured above. He also subtly speeds up the film in certain moments. Maybe it's the Stan Brackhage influence or his training at Rhode Island School Of Design. In any case Van Sant gives us a very artful independent film. But it's also character-driven and story-driven and funny.

Van Sant based the film on a book by a man who served hard time for drug crimes. But you don't have to be a drug addict to learn lessons from this film. Here are some quotes from Dillon's character:

"All these kids, they're all TV babies. Watching people killing and fucking each other on the boob tube for so long it's all they know. Hell, they think it's legal. They think it's the right thing to do."

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it’s not that bad. Even this crummy little room ain’t so bad. I actually wake up some mornings and I feel like something good’s gonna happen today. I’m a regular guy. I got my regular job. I got my regular room."

"It’s this fucking life. You never know what’s gonna happen next. That’s why Nadine spiked herself with the easy way out. That’s why Diane keeps going like she does. See most people, they don’t know how they’re gonna feel from one moment to the next. But a dope fiend has a pretty good idea. All you gotta do is look at the labels on the little bottles."

Then there's the music. I've long coveted the elusive Drugstore Cowboy soundtrack, and finally through the magic of Half.com I bought it. Here's a little music from the film:

For All We Know by Abbey Lincoln

The Israelites by Desmond Dekker

So there you have it. One of my favorite films. One last thought on this is that by watching Drugstore Cowboy you can understand normal American life by observing those who choose not to live it by the rules, even if they don't succeed.