Slacker is a film comprised of brief vignettes of characters living in Austin on one summer day. You will see a character and story for about 15 minutes, and then focus on another character that crosses their path. There is no overarching story, but what the characters do have in common is that they are "slackers", people who are removed from what is considered normal in one form or another. The characters can seem downright nihilistic at times, each often having very skewed perception of reality.
But it's by no means melodramatic either, it's more of an honest look at regular life for these people. It's like a collection of casual conversations you'd have with a friend over a beer; talking about philosophy, conspiracy theories or whatever. A lot of what is said isn't important, but the conversations can still manage to be engaging sometimes.
In this regard a lot of the characters stories are hit or miss. Some stories are goofy and good-hearted, while others just seem to drag on; especially when characters explain elaborate conspiracies. But what kept me going was seeing how one story would transition to another, and it's largely what keeps the movie from feeling disjointed. This all works well thanks to simple but clever camera movement and purposeful direction by Linklater.
Overall Slacker is a cool portrait of the 90's and its culture, especially alternative scenes like grunge and punk. This definitely isn't for everyone, but if you like the more honest and raw dialogue in films such as Clerks, then you definitely might get something out of Slacker. And if you live in Austin, Slacker is an interesting time capsule of the city before its rapid growth and gentrification.
But it's by no means melodramatic either, it's more of an honest look at regular life for these people. It's like a collection of casual conversations you'd have with a friend over a beer; talking about philosophy, conspiracy theories or whatever. A lot of what is said isn't important, but the conversations can still manage to be engaging sometimes.
In this regard a lot of the characters stories are hit or miss. Some stories are goofy and good-hearted, while others just seem to drag on; especially when characters explain elaborate conspiracies. But what kept me going was seeing how one story would transition to another, and it's largely what keeps the movie from feeling disjointed. This all works well thanks to simple but clever camera movement and purposeful direction by Linklater.
Overall Slacker is a cool portrait of the 90's and its culture, especially alternative scenes like grunge and punk. This definitely isn't for everyone, but if you like the more honest and raw dialogue in films such as Clerks, then you definitely might get something out of Slacker. And if you live in Austin, Slacker is an interesting time capsule of the city before its rapid growth and gentrification.