If you enjoy pretty images of the Pacific Northwest with soothing indie folk music, you’ve come to the right filmography. Gus Van Sant is an independent filmmaker who is one of the pioneers of the New Queer Cinema movement. The subjects in his films are often disillusioned youth, depicting their specific flaws and qualities through a patient, dream-like cinematic microscope. He later garnered mainstream success with two Oscar-winning pictures, Good Will Hunting and Milk. Often picking songs to fit whichever setting his films take place in, the soundtracks of Van Sant are both ear-catching and soulful. We seek the quietly brilliant needle-drop moments in his most beloved works.
Drugstore Cowboy
Art imitates life, or is it the other way around? When Drugstore Cowboy was made, the source material was unpublished, as the author, James Fogle, was still in prison. Like the characters in the story, he was a drug user and dealer. In 1971, Bob Hughes, our 26-year-old protagonist, leads a nomadic group of addicts as they rob pharmacies and hospitals to support their rather unhealthy needs. Fresh off of his run as an 80s teen idol, Matt Dillon stars as Bob, along with Kelly Lynch, James LeGros, and Heather Graham.
Matt Dillon
Kelly Lynch
James Remar
James Le Gros
Heather Graham
Beah Richards
Grace Zabriskie
Max Perlich
Eric Hull
John Kelly
George Catalano
The soundtrack features songs fitting for the film’s time and setting, along with scores by Elliot Goldenthal. Abbey Lincoln’s “For All We Know" enhances the dreamy opening shot and montage, giving off the vibe of someone leaving their old-timey radio on as they lie on the couch in a dream state, most likely under the influence.
My Own Private Idaho
This is considered a landmark film in the New Queer Cinema movement. An LGBT independent picture starring two young stars, predating Brokeback Mountain. Starring River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, and William Richert, this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V offers remarkable performances, particularly Phoenix in a vulnerable portrayal of a street hustler named Mike. While in a gang of street kids, he meets a rich kid, Scott, played by Reeves, who’s in the hustling game until he turns 21. That is when he will inherit his father’s fortune, who is the mayor of Portland. Mike confesses his love for Scott, while Scott reminds him that he only sleeps with men for money. It is a touching portrait of unrequited love.
River Phoenix
Keanu Reeves
Udo Kier
Chiara Caselli
James Russo
Rodney Harvey
Michael Parker
Jessica Makinson
Flea
Grace Zabriskie
Tom Troupe
My Own Private Idaho’s score was composed by pedal steel guitarist Bill Stafford. He adapted the cowboy anthem “Home on the Range” and the patriotic “America the Beautiful.” Various artists are featured on the soundtrack, including Elton John, Madonna, and Eddy Arnold. Arnold’s “Cattle Call” opens the film, as the credits intertwine with Mike receiving fellatio from a male client in Seattle.
Good Will Hunting
A rare meeting of the stars where almost everyone involved in the production delivers career-defining work. Good Will Hunting is Van Sant's most universally recognized and beloved film. It won Oscars for Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and the late Robin Williams. It also platformed the late Elliott Smith’s music into the mainstream, who is now considered one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever.
Matt Damon
Robin Williams
Ben Affleck
Stellan Skarsgård
Minnie Driver
Casey Affleck
Cole Hauser
Vik Sahay
Rachel Majorowski
Colleen McCauley
Matt Mercier
Damon stars as janitor Will, a mathematical genius whose work is discovered by Professor Lambeau of MIT, played by Stellan Skarsgård. He offers to help Will avoid jail time for assaulting a former bully if he agrees to study math under his supervision while attending psychotherapy sessions. The sessions do not work, as Will mocks each therapist. Lambeau calls on his college roommate Williams’ Dr. Sean Maguire, a psychology professor at a community college, to help. Sean challenges Will, eventually leading Will to open up. His childhood trauma remains, but a door is now open for him to heal and move forward. The film also stars Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, and Cole Hauser.
Danny Elfman provides a moving score for the film. You get the sense that you’re in for something special, giving it the feel of an American movie classic. However, the selection of songs by Elliott Smith truly tugs at the heartstrings. You could highlight any of them. “No Name #3” rewards Will after he gets the number of Skylar, the girl he likes, and even shows it to the pompous Harvard student, who had tried to embarrass his friend. We hear “Say Yes” as we watch Will and Skylar’s adorable first kiss. They cuddle in bed as “Between the Bars” gently plays. After they break up, Will calls Skylar, letting her know how he’s doing, with “Angeles” as the emotional climax. Finally, “Miss Misery” accompanies the ending scene and credits when Will lets Sean know what to say to Lambeau regarding his absence.
“Son of a bitch- he stole my line…”
Check out the full Good Will Hunting soundtrack here.
Elephant
Based in part on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Elephant’s unassumingly chilling depiction of the events leading up to a school shooting garnered both controversy and praise, accused of inspiring some school shootings while winning the Palme d’Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. It stars Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, and John Robinson. There’s no significant buildup to the violence, nor is there a purpose or epic climax in how it happens. That means no intense score or a lengthy soundtrack.
Alex Frost
Eric Deulen
John Robinson
Elias McConnell
Jordan Taylor
Carrie Finklea
Nicole George
Brittany Mountain
Alicia Miles
Kristen Hicks
Bennie Dixon
Nathan Tyson
That does not mean that music isn’t still incorporated. Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor” and “Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor Op. 13” are performed by Alex on piano as Eric plays a video game involving gunplay. It humanizes the characters while keeping us at a distance, and both characters maintain poker faces. Nothing is friendly about them, but they don’t come across as complete monsters. The choice to go with classical music is intentional- it’s pleasant to the ears while also not telling us enough about them that a contemporary artist, such as a rock band or rapper, would.
Check out the full Elephant soundtrack here.
Last Days
Last Days covers, you guessed it, the last days of the life of a popular musician, loosely based on Kurt Cobain. For years, Van Sant wanted to make a biographical drama on the Seattle legend but feared a potential lawsuit by Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love. After several conversations with her, he would write, produce, and direct this film, receiving mixed reception from critics. It had enough of a legacy to inspire an English opera adaptation and the characterization of Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022). It stars Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, and Scott Patrick Green.
Michael Pitt
Lukas Haas
Asia Argento
Scott Patrick Green
Nicole Vicius
Ricky Jay
Ryan Orion
Kim Gordon
Adam Friberg
Andy Friberg
Thadeus A. Thomas
The antiquated soundtrack features original compositions by cast members Pitt and Haas and an acclaimed number by The Velvet Underground. “Venus in Furs” is a literal needle-drop featured in the film. A hypnotic, drug-infused dance sequence ensues between Cobain’s friends. They are stoned out of their minds, swaying and walking around like zombies. This is the environment surrounding him, filled with enablers and leeches.
Check out the full Last Days soundtrack here.
Paranoid Park
While Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days are most commonly referred to as a death trilogy, I believe that this 2007 retelling of Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” has enough in common with those to make it a tetralogy instead. Based on the 2006 young adult novel by Blake Nelson of the same name, Paranoid Park follows Alex, a 16-year-old skateboarder who accidentally commits a crime in an attempt to fit in the skater crowd. We follow his struggles to cope with his actions while avoiding being caught. Starring Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen, Jake Miller, and Daniel Liu, the cast consists of primarily unknown teenage actors and skaters who were in Portland at the time. It premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Gabe Nevins
Dan Liu
Jake Miller
Taylor Momsen
Lauren McKinney
Scott Patrick Green
John Michael Burrowes
Grace Carter
Jay 'Smay' Williamson
Dillon Hines
Emma Nevins
The soundtrack came together as Van Sant and the film’s editors would listen to each other's iTunes collections, picking out songs they felt fit best. Featuring scores from Nino Rota and even a piece from Ludwig van Beethoven, it offers an introspective, closer look into the lives of skaters. Such was the case for Good Will Hunting, and it is the two selected songs from Elliott Smith that hit home most, with “Angeles” being reprised in the Van Sant canon. “The White Lady Loves You More” is a haunting melody while Alex walks out of class, meant to orchestrate him moving past the horror that once plagued him.
Milk
This 2008 release is a more straightforward approach to the biographical drama subgenre. Milk follows the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn. He was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. Van Sant shoots the picture on the actual stomping grounds of the man on Castro Street in San Francisco. The film also stars Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and James Franco. It grossed $54 million worldwide and won two Oscars, Penn for Best Actor and Dustin Lance Black for Best Original Screenplay.
Sean Penn
Emile Hirsch
Josh Brolin
Diego Luna
James Franco
Alison Pill
Victor Garber
Denis O'Hare
Joseph Cross
Stephen Spinella
Boyd Holbrook
Lucas Grabeel
Danny Elfman reunites with Van Sant to compose the film’s score. The soundtrack packs a punch, too, featuring David Bowie, Sly & the Family Stone, Patti Smith Group, and Judy Garland. Elfman’s lovely “Give ‘Em Hope” plays during the final scene. A tape recording of Harvey as he rehearses a speech that he will give his people and the aftermath of his words is shown. Thousands of people who believed in him joined together in a candlelight vigil on their way to The Castro. Equality is what he fought and died for. That is why his legacy remains.
Check out the full Milk soundtrack here.
The young men of Van Sant’s cinematic universe are often troubled loners. Gay hustlers, drug addicts, genius janitors, basically anyone who feels genuinely lost, become our focus. There is zero judgment. We see them and their world for what it is and find beauty within it well before they even consider changing for good. How do they cope with their reality? Some wallow in their sorrows, others forgive themselves and push forward. It’s hard to imagine Good Will Hunting or Paranoid Park without those timely Elliott Smith needle-drops or The Velvet Underground & Nico in Last Days. No song selection is by accident. They encapsulate a moment in time where their troubles, whether it be a skater in Portland whose recent breakup with his girlfriend is the least of his worries or sitting through therapy sessions with a community college psychology professor in Boston.
In “The White Lady Loves You More,” Elliott Smith expresses:
“I’m looking at a hand, full of broken plans, and I’m tired of playing it down…”