My Private Idaho

I watched this film on TV 5 years ago, when I was only eleven years old, and I remember that I was especially impressed by River Phoenix's magnificent performance. I had already watched "Stand By Me" (one of my favorites), and it was very interesting to watch him older in such a daring film. I think he was the best actor of his generation but, unfortunately, he died too young. His film legacy and his magnificent aura, however, live on forever.

"My Own Private Idaho" is a poetic and bittersweet road movie, and Van Sant's masterpiece. Here in Brazil it received a bad title, "Garotos de Programa" (literally, "Rent Boys"). Yes, the main characters are rent boys, but this is not what defines them. "My Own Private Idaho" (what a beautiful title!) mostly deals with loneliness, virile sexuality and friendship, and paternity. It's much more than "a film about rent boys". Besides, by watching it my contemporaries will realize that Keanu Reeves isn't Neo from "The Matrix", but a versatile actor; and, perhaps, they'd discover that friendship - and romantic love - between two men can be truly sincere. 10/10.

I adore this movie, have owned it on VHS long before there was anything else and have seen it an insane number of times. It isn't perfect, but with me personally, though I'm a European female and thus have no personal life experience that could resemble anything the main characters go through, it struck a chord of universality that made it heart-breaking. The pathos in it, the bitter poetry, the warped magic is just unbelievably beautiful... and painful. It is visually inventive and the casting - even Keanu Reeves's, which has been so often criticised - is top-notch. Reeves's character is a flippant, spoilt young man who goes through life acting in his own self-glorifying drama: what better actor to cast in that role than someone whose acting is so contrived? And Phoenix... well, what can I say... to me, this is THE River Phoenix role, the one that can single-handedly turn him into an immortal, a legend. The Shakespearian quotations I adored: the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff from Henry IV, Part II is among the most mesmerising of the Bard's dramatic repertoire - that play was like an emotional earthquake to me. My Own Private Idaho caught its spirit perfectly, and translated it into a context that was original in its own right yet more faithful to Shakespeare in feeling than a more literal transposition might have been. Also, I found the portrayal of Rome in the part in which River's character goes out there to search for his mother, refreshingly true to life and totally cliché-free. As an Italian from Rome, it's very rare that I see a non-Italian film portraying my city of origin with so much authenticity. The FEEL of the place at a given time - the late 80s - was spot-on. In conclusion: to me, not only was My Own Private Idaho one of the best adaptations of (at least parts) of a Shakespeare play that I've seen, but also a tragedy of almost Shakespearian intensity in its own right. It had it all: the unhealthy, consuming passion (the fatal flaw), the power struggles, the young heir in his reckless, youthful days eventually maturing into the arrogance of the privileged (Keanu), the parental ghost that one of the protagonists looks to as his prophetic voice, the voice that may give his life a meaning (River's search for and the flashbacks to the memory of his mother), the intense pathos throughout, the tragic deaths at the end... that film is just pure magic to me! Just writing about it makes me want to see it again - what, for the 20th time or something?! And the tragedy at My Own Private Idaho's core is so universal, it really becomes completely secondary whether it's about and between men, women, homosexuals or heterosexuals.

My Own Private Idaho is flimsy, unconvincing and wildly overrated. Although it is a film worth watching, for River's performance if nothing else, its accredited greatness is no more than a wishfully constructed social myth.

I wish I could say how truly remarkable the film is, but to be honest it lacks substance, it leaves you yearning for something more…I think much of the talent in the film is unexploited to its best potential and the dialogue, in its second half, written in a kind of impromptu, mock Shakespeare, is devoid of any magic.

Overall the film is watch-able and has some great shots, like that at the beginning where the viewer joins Mike (River Phoenix) toward the end of a blow-job he's receiving from a john; when he comes the image of an entire house being dropped onto a desolate highway charges the screen.It's sad and beautiful, and, is a perfect statement on Mike's yearning for a home he never had.

Gus Van Sant, truly one of the best directors in this century, has a visionary eye that enables audiences to see life in a different/new way. In this case he takes Henry IV- usually overshadowed by Henry V, and turns it in to a heart wrenching tale that modern audiences can appreciate. The visual pictures that get layered on and on and on our eyeballs are like dance steps carefully plotted. The use of lesser known actors is refreshing, and the chemistry between River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves is overwhelming. This is a must see for any lover of independent films, for any person tired of predictable plots, or for anyone who wants to open their heart to vulnerable characters and love them. This movie gets you involved.

This movie isn't about being, or even about being a hustler. "My Own Private Idaho" is about finding a home. In his finest performance, River Phoenix plays Mike, a narcoleptic street hustler with false memories of a terrific childhood. Mike wants to find his mother and family, but how or why he left them is never discussed. This is a movie that shows life at the lowest rung, and is very similar to Kerouac's "On the Road" and especially John Rechy's "City of Night." (In fact the line about becoming a fairy is straight from "City of Night"). Mike and Scott (Keanu Reeves) are both male prostitutes in Oregon. Why either of them have drifted into this profession is anyone's guess. Scott is clearly not gay, but Mike might be and their relationship is what holds the movie together. The film works on many levels, but does have its flaws. It's faux-Shakespearen scenes make the film drag in the middle. Van Sant directed the movie like a dream, which is what Mike's life basically is.

This is a haunting and very sad tale about friendship and finding a home. The performances, especially Phoenix and Udo Kier and Van Sant's dream-like direction are what you remember. "My Own Private Idaho" may be a flawed film, but in my opinion, it is one of the very best of the '90's.