Buffalo 66

Frenetic con man gets out of jail and returns home to see his parents. Having invented an existence without prison and a new wife to his folks, the man kidnaps a girl to play his wife for his one visit home.

One of the few real independent movies to come out in 1998, this film combines an excellent troupe of actors, a quirky, humorous and sometimes serious script, with an amazing new set of visual techniques purposely orchestrated by the man behind all of the magic, Vincent Gallo. This film’s style blends elements from many an independent director’s early works, like Tom DiCillo’s JOHNNY SUEDE (8/10), Martin Scorsese’s MEAN STREETS (7/10) and TAXI DRIVER (10/10), David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET (9/10) and Gus Van Sant’s MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (8/10). Gallo also wrote a pretty funny screenplay filled with interesting characters, idiosyncrasies galore, and a decent romance between two very odd lead characters.

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian