Nowhere (film)

Nowhere is a 1997 American black comedy drama film written and directed by Gregg Araki. Described as 'Beverly Hills 90210 on acid', the film follows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles college students and the strange lives that they lead. It stars an ensemble cast led by James Duval and Rachel True.

Nowhere
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGregg Araki
Produced byGregg Araki
Andrea Sperling
Written byGregg Araki
Starring
CinematographyArturo Smith
Edited byGregg Araki
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release date
  • May 9, 1997 (1997-05-09)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
France
LanguageEnglish
Box office$194,201[1]

The film is Araki's sixth overall and third entry into his Teen Apocalypse trilogy, preceded by Totally Fucked Up (1993) and The Doom Generation (1995). Like the other films in the trilogy, it contains scenes of graphic violence and sexuality. The film notably includes several cast members on the verge of stardom, including Ryan Phillippe, Mena Suvari, Kathleen Robertson, and Denise Richards.

Plot

Dark and Mel are a bisexual couple in an open relationship. Mel is dating a girl named Lucifer, who Dark hates, while Dark is interested in a mysterious boy he keeps running into named Montgomery. The three of them meet up at a café they frequent, where we're introduced to other teens they know, such as girls Alyssa, Dingbat and Egg and Dark's friend Cowboy, and they discuss a party being held that night by a man they know named Jujyfruit.

Alyssa tells Montgomery that it's said to be the day of the rapture, which scares him. Egg then runs into an unnamed teen idol from Baywatch (played by Baywatch actor Jaason Simmons), and the two leave together. Cowboy and Dark discuss the former's relationship with his boyfriend and bandmate Bart, who's dependency on heroin is driving them and the band apart, and Cowboy goes to look for him. Alyssa's tells Dingbat that her palm of her hand feels weird, which is revealed to be because her brother, Shad, is having a palm reading with his girlfriend Lilith.

After leaving the café, Egg and the teen idol go on a date together where he tells her that he wants to run away with her, and the two go back to his place. Cowboy tracks down Bart, first heading to his heroin supplier Handjob. He eventually finds him and offers the chance to fix their relationship if he stops using drugs, but Bart declines. Alyssa and Dingbat meet with Ducky, Egg's brother and Dingbat's crush, before Alyssa meets up with her boyfriend Elvis. While waiting at a bus stop, Dark sees three valley girls get abducted by an alien, which he tries to catch on video before it disappears. Back in his bedroom he goes over the footage, but can't spot the alien. Mel enters his room via his window and the two sleep together.

At the teen idol's place him and Egg watch TV together before he tries to make a move on her. She rejects his advances, angering him and leading to him raping her. Meanwhile, Bart has an S&M session with two girls, Kriss and Kozy. Dark and Mel cuddle back at Dark's place before Mel realises she's late to picking up Lucifer for a game of kick the can. He begs her to stay but she leaves anyway.

Mel's younger brother Zero goes to pick up his girlfriend Zoe to take her to the party just as Dark and his friends play a drugged out game of hide and seek, during which Montgomery gets abducted by the same alien from earlier, who Dark runs into in a locker room. Getting impatient, the group leave without Montgomery, with Dark too stunned to tell them about the alien. Egg and Bart both return home and watch the same televangelist, Moses Helper, on TV, who encourages the two to commit suicide in order to reach heaven.

On the way to the party Zero's car is stolen by a gang known as the Atari Gang. Him and Zoe walk beside the road before Handjob, Kriss and Kozy offer them a ride. At the party, Dark begs Mel to make their relationship monogamous but she instead goes of with Surf and Ski, two brothers that she knows which angers Lucifer. Dark goes outside and is joined by Dingbat when suddenly Ducky, after hearing about his sister's suicide, leaps into a swimming pool, with Dingbat using CPR to resuscitate him. Going back into the party, Dark enters a kitchen where he sees the same alien from earlier. He meets with Handjob and begins to tell him about his day before Alyssa and Elvis arrive. Elvis claims Handjob sold him cut drugs and beats him to death with a can of tomato soup.

Dark returns home and records a diary entry on his video camera, saying how he's 'totally doomed'. As he attempts to sleep, Montgomery knocks on his window. Dark lets him in as he explains that he was abducted and experimented on by aliens who intend to invade Earth. The two lie down in bed together and Montgomery asks if he can spend the night, with Dark saying only if he promises him to never leave. The two close their eyes but are disturbed as Montgomery goes into a coughing fit, leading him to explode into a shower of blood, leaving only a cockroach like alien who exclaims 'I'm outta here' before crawling out of the window. A blood covered Dark turns to the audience, staring with his mouth wide open.

Cast

Reception

The Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, calling it "high energy" and stating that "Araki is a marvel at controlling shifting tones, and Nowhere, a confident, intricate work, has a great pop art look, yet its emotions are real."[2] In an article on the upcoming summer films of 1997, The New York Times described Nowhere as "California's version of Kids."[3]

Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a 27% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4.32/10.[4]

Home media

In the US, it was released on VHS.[5] Elsewhere it is available on DVD, including the United Kingdom, where it was released on a Region 2 DVD with no special features.. It was later re-released in the United Kingdom in 2013 featuring a commentary track with Gregg Araki James Duval, Rachel True and Jordan Ladd. In France it was released in a Region 2 DVD, with either French audio or original audio with French subtitles. It has no special features except for a French trailer. In Australia it was released on a Region 4 DVD.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film, Nowhere: Music from the Gregg Araki Movie, was released on Mercury Records in 1997.

Nowhere: Music from the Gregg Araki Movie
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released1997
Recorded1991-1997
Length64:05
LabelMercury Records

Track listing
  1. Slowdive – "Avalyn II"
  2. 311 – "Freak Out"
  3. Radiohead – "How Can You Be Sure"
  4. Elastica – "In the City"
  5. Hole – "Dicknail"
  6. The Chemical Brothers – "Life is Sweet" (Daft Punk Remix)
  7. Massive Attack – "Daydreaming" (Blacksmith Remix)
  8. Coco and the Bean – "Killing Time" (Qureysh – Eh? 1 Remix)
  9. Catherine Wheel – "Intravenous"
  10. Curve – "Nowhere"
  11. Lush – "I Have the Moon"
  12. Ruby – "Flippin' Tha Bird" (Ceasefire Remix)
  13. James – "Thursday Treatments"
  14. Chuck D – "Generation Wrekked" (Danny Saber Rock Remix)
  15. Marilyn Manson – "Kiddie Grinder" (Remix)
  16. Suede – "Trash"

References
  1. Nowhere – Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  2. "Stylish 'Nowhere' Finds Youthful Despair". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1997.
  3. Gates, Anita (May 4, 1997). "Smiling Batman, Killer Dinos" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "Nowhere (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  5. Nowhere [VHS]: James Duval, Rachel True, Nathan Bexton, Chiara Mastroianni, Debi Mazar, Kathleen Robertson, Joshua Gibran Mayweather, Jordan Ladd, Christina Applegate, Sarah Lassez, Guillermo DÃaz, Jeremy Jordan, Gregg Araki, Andrea Sperling, Grégoire Sorlat, Ilene Staple, Jon Kuyper, Nicole Arbib: Movies & TV. ISBN 0780620321.
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