To Die For (1995)

Gus Van Sant’s well-crafted dark comedy was an impressive follow-up to his tragically unsuccessful adaptation of “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues”. The interspersed docu-drama style interviews with the characters in the film makes for a really fascinating blending of genre. Exploring TV celebrity and small-town poverty, it is based on the 1992 novel by Joyce Maynard. The entire cast is excellent. Joaquin Phoenix is so unsettling. He breaths so much depth to his role as the listless and frightening teen obsessed with Nicole Kidman’s twisted stepford-wife act.