Nowhere, 1997
Before the gut wrenching
Mysterious Skin,
Gregg Araki had his "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy" which also includes
Totally ****ed Up and
the Doom Generation, but [b]Nowhere is the shining star. It's a coming of age tale like no other. It's also edgy and angsty almost to the point of physical injury. I could definitely see people calling it cringe material and I might too, but that's what makes it what it is. It is alternative personified.
Centered around a handful of mostly queer youths and their kickass 1997 party,
Nowhere offers heavy doses of awkward comedy, an alternative/electro/shoegaze soundtrack, and some really imaginative sets if you ask me. Everyone's respective bedroom is decked to the nines in what the hell. But for all the jokes and ecstasy and anorexia and
Christina Applegate with braces, it also comes packed with a good deal of uncomfortable and ****ed moments (though not nearly on the level of
Mysterious Skin). Then at the end of the day and the parties over, after all the depravity, youthful angst prevails and it's like nothing was a big deal even though everything was a massive deal
Life's just whack innit