Symbols of American independent cinema of the 1990s, the three films by Gregg Araki that make up the trilogy Teenage Apocalypse have been re-released in theaters. Three films that speak frankly about homosexuality, youth and sex and that established Araki's style: radical, demanding, cool and profound.
In the mid-1990s, before becoming known to the general public with Mysterious skins (2004) or Kaboom (2010), Gregg Araki directed three films in quick succession which, in his words, make up the trilogy of "The Teenage Apocalypse": Totally F***ed Up (1993) The Doom Generation (1995) et Nowhere (1997). Films with no narrative links between them, but which explore the same themes: adolescent distress and homosexuality during the AIDS years, in a large, sunny city. A nihilism between sex and drugs that is reminiscent of the novel Less than zero by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1985 and also set in Los Angeles.
Each of the three films features the same lead actor, James Duval, a kind of double of Araki, alternately melancholic (Totally F***ed Up), nihilist (Nowhere) or very naive (The Doom Generation), like three sides of the same diamond. Classy, cool, and nonchalant, James Duval, discovered by Araki, carries the trilogy with his sensitivity. We continue to encounter this actor (now 52) in some of the wildest corners of American cinema. We also remember his striking appearance in Donnie Darko (2001), like a nod from Richard Kelly to Gregg Araki, whose themes in this first film are similar. But he remains an actor who is all too rare, leaving a strong mark on the trilogy. Teenage Apocalypse.
He's not the only one. Gregg Araki's films are known for their ultra-charismatic characters, portrayed not by stars, but by the epitome of cool. edgy of his time. Nowhere is populated by It-girls: Christina Applegate, Shannen Doherty, and Heather Graham make memorable cameos. We also encounter (partly because several of Araki's films are co-productions with France) cool kids from France, like Chiara Mastroianni in Nowhere, or Roxane Mesquida in several later films. We should also mention Parker Posey, portraying a character as improbable as he was terrifying and brilliant in The Doom Generation, like an amphetamine and LSD-fueled version of his character The White LotusBut in this second film of the trilogy, seemingly the closest to traditional cinema since it pastiches the road movies criminals way Bonnie and ClydeThe actress who steals the show remains Rose McGowan. The future star of Scream then Charmed portrays a heroine who is as lucid as her companion (James Duval) is credulous, and who tempers the exacerbated virility of the third character in this strange trio (played by Johnathon Schaech).
Making his characters cool and classy, always ultra-stylish but without appearing to be, isn't the only striking element of Gregg Araki's highly formalistic direction in this trilogy. We also find a visual passion for interior sets directly inherited from pop art (Andy Warhol is even referenced visually from the very beginning). Totally F***ed Up). There is also a significant textual component to the image, with ready-made phrases invading the urban space, from advertising slogans to biblical parables, including desperate words or injunctions (from " God Help Me "on a public bench at Obey ", as in Invasion Los Angeles (by John Carpenter). Finally, there is Gregg Araki's other great passion: music. “Music is very important to me », we can read in the credits of Totally F***ed UpIn each of the films, music plays a very important role. The characters talk about music, wear band t-shirts. Often industrial metal or alternative rock: The Smiths, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails. In a pure punk spirit, Gregg Araki never uses music to enhance a scene or intensify its emotional impact. On the contrary, tracks are often heard muted during dialogue scenes, or abruptly during seemingly unrelated sequences. Music is not a staging tool; it exists for its own sake. Thus, the three films that make up this trilogy may seem less accessible than some of the filmmaker's later works. But they retain the radical nature of an uncompromising mise-en-scène, which is their strength. They are not simply a portrait of this lost generation that the director knows well, having himself been born in Los Angeles just a few years earlier. They are their image. Thus, the Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy It is a precious document from an era that is no longer quite ours. But it also continues, in certain aspects that resonate particularly with today's youth, to display a powerful and audacious modernity.
Gregg Araki Retrospective
Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation et Nowhere
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