Movie Review: Waking Life

Waking Life (2001) 

Directed by Richard Linklater

Written by Richard Linklater

Starring Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Nicky Katt, Adam Goldberg

Release Date October 19th, 2001 

Published December 25th, 2001 

I am a collector. I collect DVD's, sports memorabilia and movie collector cups, etc. But above all I collect intelligent opinions. I love to listen to and interact with intelligent people. Richard Linklater's breakthrough animated film Waking Life is a series of intelligent conversations set against one of the most visually striking backdrops I've ever seen.

The film is taken from the perspective of an unnamed character played by Wiley Wiggins from Linklater’s Dazed & Confused. (I'll explain the “played by instead of voiced by” credit later). Wiggins’ character is trapped in a dream, though he doesn't realize it right away. In the dream he interacts with a series of run-at-the-mouth philosophers who while at times obnoxious, actually do have interesting opinions.

The conversations are meaningful discussions of philosophy, religion and the meaning of life. None of the characters claim to have the answers to the many unanswerable life questions but they are at least brave enough to discuss topics like death and existence or nonexistence of a higher power. Questions that many people would prefer weren't asked.

While the film is, at times, aimless, the animation is so lively that you are at rapt attention throughout. Linklater and his team of animators did something very unique in Waking Life, first filming the movie with live actors, Wiggins, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy amongst others. Then the animators used computers to animate over the shot footage, which gives the film it's dreamscape and allows for visual experimentation that could never work in a live action feature.

You know how in dreams when you know where you are but it looks nothing like it does in real life? Waking Life seizes upon that dreamy feeling and uses it's dialogue to lead it's main character and the audience to a surprisingly satisfying open-ended conclusion. It's up to you the viewer to decide for yourself what happens to Wiggins’ character at the end of the film.

Richard Linklater is weaving an amazing career, from Slackers to Dazed & Confused to Tape and now Waking Life. Linklater has established himself on the new frontier of film as art.

It's a small, unnamed generation of young filmmakers like Linklater, Allison Anders, P.T Anderson and Darren Aronofsky who are championing filmmaking as art over mere commerce. They swim against the tide of Hollywood and attempt to say something. Film as sociological art. It's not merely about entertaining the audience but about inspiring them and touching them emotionally and intellectually. If only more filmmakers shared their vision and courage.