To Die For
In 1995, Gus Van Sant released his first "mainstream" picture, To Die For. The film was an adaption of Joyce Maynard's novel of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillion, Joaquin Phoenix (in one of his earlier roles), Casey Affleck, and many more. And though the film itself is still distinctly filtered through Van Sant's always (at least mostly) unique vision, there is a definite mainstream element running through much of the picture - from the presence of Kidman, to the screenplay by Buck Henry (The Graduate, Catch-22), to the nearly linear plot line. It marked a definite departure for Van Sant, in several ways. To Die For was the first film in which he had no hand at all in the writing of the screenplay, the first of his films to center entirely on heterosexual relationships, and the first time he worked with composer Danny Elfman, who would later score both Good Will Hunting and Psycho(1998), in addition to his many other projects.
In another interesting note, it marked the third consecutive film of his to prominently feature a member of the Phoenix family. River of course appeared in My Own Private Idaho, Rain Phoenix played the slightly larger than life Jellybean Bonanza in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (which also featured River in a very bit part), and here in To Die For, Joaquin Phoenix (formerly "Leaf Phoenix"), plays the teenage victim of Kidman's seductively sweet Suzanne Stone.
In terms of plot, To Die For takes a rather interesting approach. Much as Woody Allen had done in Husbands and Wives(1991), Van Sant inserts "real life" interviews with various characters throughout the film, to give it a bit of a documentary feel. It was ultimately an interesting, and overall fairly successful approach. Maynard's book, in fact, had been written in a rather unconventional way itself: each successive chapter was told, first person, through a different character's eyes and point of view. Thus, we see the story, and characters, through several different sets of eyes. Van Sant's mockumentary approach thus succeeds in conveying the unique sensibilities of Maynard's novel, while still managing to maintain the dark humor and satire of both the book and Buck Henry's intelligent screenplay.
To Die For revolves around Suzanne Stone(Kidman), a woman absolutely determined to make it as a television news personality. As such, Stone seems oblivious to all else in her way, viewing people as nothing more than mere distractions on her road to eventual success. Unfortunately, this even includes her husband (Matt Dillon), whom she sees as a monumental roadblock - and eventually decides that he must be eliminated.
Stone attempts to 'rid' herself of her husband by seducing a high school student (Phoenix) - whom she has met as a part of her television project aimed at documenting the lives of teenagers - and convincing him to kill her husband. Stone's prescene and attention, her seeming affection and sexual desire for him is like heaven for the lonely, withdrawn Phoenix. And as we see it through his eyes, we almost understand the motivation he could have to commit murder. Not justified, mind you, but we also have to keep in mind that Stone is actively lying to him (claiming he abuses her and that she really wants to be with him and not her husband) and goading him into doing such a horrific thing.
The fun in this movie comes from watching where it goes next, seeing firsthand the results of Stone's devious, horrific personalilty. In respecting that, I won't divulge the ending. I will, however, divulge that as dark as the film might sound, it is actually severely funny in several instances. It is also amazingly sad at points.
When you're in the mood for one of Van Sant's more "normal" films - or a satire of any sorts for that matter - rent this on video or dvd, sit back and enjoy. A critically acclaimed work - with a brilliant breakout performance by Nicole Kidman - it never really found an audience at the box office. But don't let that deter you; it's a great film.
LINKS AND REVIEWS
Reviews from film.com
Movie web site (includes review and film stills)
Roger Ebert's excellent review
back to the Gus Van Sant homepage
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