Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When Drugstore Cowboy made it to American theaters in the fall of 1989, the Sundance Film Festival was only five years old, the Independent Spirit Awards had been going for only four, and Miramax had just released sex, lies, and videotape a couple months prior. The indie film revolution of the 1990s was poised to break out in a big way. And while Gus Van Sant’s tale of drug addicts in the Pacific northwest technically opened in the ’80s, there are few films more indicative of ’90s indie drama than Drugstore Cowboy. Now that the film is available to stream on Hulu, you might want to use it as a springboard to revisiting (or visiting for the first time), the indie films that defined the decade.
So in honor of Drugstore Cowboy, we put together a playlist of the definitive ’90s indie dramas, along with where you can stream them. Enjoy!
'Drugstore Cowboy' (1989)
Director Gus Van Sant’s second feature film was filmed in Portland lonnnnnnng before that city became cultural shorthand for anything. Starring Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch, the film tells the story of heroin addicts in the 1970s who go around robbing drugstores to support their habit. While it would take a while for the film to filter down into the popular consciousness, film critics like Roger Ebert praised it vocally, and Van Sant’s indie career would only flourish from there.
'Paris Is Burning' (1990)
Slotting the documentary Paris Is Burning onto a list of indie dramas might be a stretch, but tell me there are many films more full of DRAHHH-MAHHH that this film about the drag-ball scene in 1980s New York City. This film is a major touchstone for any and all drag entertainment today. “Essential” is an understatement.
'Poison' (1991)
If you saw Carol this year and suddenly can’t get enough of director Todd Haynes (who could blame you?), you should seek out Poison, the director’s first feature film. It’s Haynes’ only real foray into science fiction, as Poison tells three independent stories of strange and unusual events. There’s a camp sensibility to the kinds of things that fascinate Haynes here, and Poison is certainly one of the bedrock films of the New Queer Cinema movement of the ’90s.
'Reservoir Dogs' (1991)
Not much else needs to be said about Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature, except that it helped put Miramax on the map and launched one of the biggest careers in independent filmmaking. A true game-changer.
'My Own Private Idaho' (1991)
Here’s Gus Van Sant again with My Own Private Idaho, still in the Pacific northwest, this time dealing with male hustlers looking to get by and existing in a dreamy middle ground between disaster and the lives they might one day have. The performance River Phoenix gives here is phenomenal, and you should watch it if only to appreciate everything that was lost when he died young. He stars opposite Keanu Reeves, in one of his best (though still very Keanu) performances.
'El Mariachi' (1993)
Robert Rodriguez would go on to play a major role in the ’90s indie scene, and it all got started with this most unlikely crime drama. The plot involves a traveling mariachi who is mistaken for a murderous criminal, putting him in the crosshairs of a band of killers. Antonio Banderas would step into the role for the sequels, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but while those movies seem much more like Rodriguez’s style as we’d come to know it, El Mariachi may still be his best film.
'Lone Star' (1996)
Lone Star may, in fact, be director John Sayles’ best-regarded film. Chris Cooper plays the sheriff of a small Texas town who has to live up to the legend of his father (played in flashback by Matthew McConaughey) and solve the murder of his predecessor. Frances McDormand and Elizabeth Peña also star in this western-flavored mystery that, true to Sayles’ reputation, covers a lot of terrain.
'Trainspotting' (1996)
Director Danny Boyle had already made a bit of a name for himself in indie circles with Shallow Grave, but Trainspotting was a true breakthrough film. It became a sensation in America, garnering an Oscar nomination for its screenplay and launching both Boyle and Ewan McGregor into big-time American film careers.
'Pi" (1998)
Darren Aronofsky would go on to make Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan (and, uh, Noah), but to get to the true root of his mad cinematic brain, you’ll want to drill down into Pi, the exceedingly low-fi, micro-budgeted paranoid math thriller (we don’t get nearly enough of those) about a numbers genius who thinks he’s stumbled on a mathematical formula that unlocks the secrets of universe. You know, for starters.
'Velvet Goldmine' (1998)
Todd Haynes again! Velvet Goldmine is often described as Haynes’ weakest film, but don’t listen to anybody who says that. His musical/historical fantasia of the ’70s glam-rock era in London is a Citizen-Kane-meets-Bowie tale with some brilliant performances by Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, Toni Collette, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. It’s an unabashedly queer telling of the kinds of rock-and-roll legends that are so often denied their queer aspects. It’s fun and transporting and a dazzler to look at. It’s the best.
