Every Richard Linklater Film Ranked
Every Richard Linklater Film Ranked | Richard Linklater is one of the most prolific directors of his generation, essentially putting out a film every year and a half since his debut in Slacker in 1990. He’s such an interesting director in many ways. He is one of the few who have successfully straddled the line between indie creation and the Hollywood system. He has taken the old adage “one for you and one for me” and applied it to his career. He has these large studio films like School of Rock, but then he also has very small independent projects like Tape.
For me personally, Linklater has had tremendous influence on my writing and my approach to film. He is someone who creates characters seemingly effortlessly. When I finally had the chance to meet him and interview him at Sundance this past year, I was able to ask him a little bit about how he crafts these characters and dialogue, and I found his response very interesting. Essentially, he told me that he doesn’t ever write anything that he hasn’t heard. Everything that his characters say in his films are things that he has said or people around him have said. He’s not attempting to craft something in his script that is so profound because, by doing so, you lose that very essence. Instead, he crafts characters that exist in one way or another in the real world, and this is present throughout his filmography.
This particular list will explore 21 of his films, essentially every major narrative film that has had a release, not including his technically first film It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, which was attached as a special feature to the release of Slacker. It also won’t include any of his shorts or documentary work like his project God Save Texas from this last year. I’ll go through the first number of films fairly quickly to save you some time, and then I’ll slow down a little bit when we reach some of my personal favorites.
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21. The Newton Boys (1998)
The Newton Boys came out in 1998 with a couple of amazing cast members in Ethan Hawke, who will come up on this list quite often, and also Matthew McConaughey. This follows the true story of these bank robbers, but it’s quite meandering and it doesn’t really leave you feeling or thinking much of anything.
20. Bad News Bears (2005)
This 2005 remake of the ’70s classic just didn’t quite land. Somewhat surprising, given Linklater’s own connection to baseball, but this remake fell cursed to what happens to the majority of remakes. It is unable to capture the original essence. It is funny and demonstrates Linklater’s love of the game, but there’s just something missing.
19. Fast Food Nation (2006)
This 2006 project is somewhat interesting, or at least the concept was interesting at the time, taking a piece of nonfiction and adapting it to a fictional narrative. This has become more prevalent in recent years, but in the early to mid-2000s, it wasn’t part of the filmmaking norm. That being said, it’s another project that is not terrible but just doesn’t really leave you feeling much of anything. It again has an impressive cast featuring Ethan Hawke as well as Patricia Arquette, Bruce Willis, and even a guest appearance from Avril Lavigne, but it doesn’t quite have the impact that perhaps just a straightforward documentary might have had.
18. Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
This more recent 2019 film features the incredible Cate Blanchett, and I wish that we had Blanchett and Linklater in a stronger project because I think it is undeniable that the two of them certainly have the potential to craft something special, but this one wasn’t really it. It follows Blanchett’s character as a brilliant yet troubled architect who goes missing, and it just never felt like a Linklater film. The characters and the dialogue spoke in a way that didn’t feel entirely natural, which I suppose makes more sense when we consider that this film was actually co-written with two other writers. This is no disrespect to these writers, but it doesn’t have those intangible Linklater qualities when it comes to the authenticity and natural flow of the characters and dialogue.
17. SubUrbia (1996)
This 1996 adaptation of Eric Bogosian‘s play of the same name was kind of a growth out of 1990’s Slacker, Linklater’s first film to have any sort of theatrical release. It follows a group of somewhat dark and problematic characters, but I don’t think that the film has aged particularly well. In retrospect, a lot of these characters seem one-dimensional and rooted in some stereotypes that may lack nuance. That being said, there is a great soundtrack here featuring tracks from bands like Sonic Youth and of course the Butthole Surfers.
16. Last Flag Flying (2017)
This 2017 film is admittedly one that I’ve only seen once and probably should revisit. It’s a powerful reflection on friendship, faith, and service, and it brings two pretty brilliant performances from Steve Carell and Bryan Cranston. I suppose my hesitation to rank it higher here is that it feels a little bit generic in its formula and again doesn’t quite have that uniqueness that we tend to associate with Linklater. These characters demonstrate pain, they demonstrate love, and there is strong messaging throughout, but it feels like it could have been made by a number of different directors.
15. Bernie (2011)
This 2011 film stars Jack Black in one of his relatively speaking more grounded roles. Of course, anyone who knows Jack Black knows kind of the stereotypical character that he may play across the majority of his filmography. Bernie is a very interesting project in the sense that it incorporates real interviews, some scripted but some real interviews with local community members of this small town that the film is exploring. These kind of directorial choices are interesting and it is really a mix of genre. At times it’s quite dark, at times it’s quite funny, but it doesn’t quite pack that intense emotional wallop like some other films on this list.
14. Me and Orson Welles (2008)
This 2008 film is one of those projects that, for one reason or another, I feel like no one has seen. It stars Zac Efron in a really strong performance, highlighting his acting ability outside of the High School Musical world. It also stars the brilliant Claire Danes as well as actor Christian McKay, known more for his role in theater, which makes sense given that this particular film is really about the theater process. It follows a version of Orson Welles and Zac Efron as a young actor essentially getting a shot in a production of Julius Caesar. The performances here are strong and it becomes very easy to get interested and invested in the process of a stage production.
13. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)
This 2022 film stars, at least the voice of, Jack Black. Again, what we will see quite frequently as we go through this list is that Linklater has a handful of collaborators he tends to keep going back to. Apollo 10 1/2 is the first of three rotoscoped films on this list, which provides a pretty interesting style of animation, bridging the gap between live-action and purely animated films. It is a nostalgic reflection on 1960s suburbia in America, following the space race and the political turmoil of the Cold War, highlighting what life was like for someone coming of age while still holding on to their imagination. Certainly, themes that Linklater explores in other projects, and probably explores them a little bit better in some of the other films on this list.
12. Tape (2001)
This 2001 adaptation from Stephen Belber‘s play is admittedly not going to be for everyone. This is one of the less accessible films, at least to a very mainstream audience. It is shot in a single motel room with three characters just talking. Again, that’s not all that strange for a Richard Linklater film, but this one certainly pushes it to the extreme with very little movement, both physically in location but also with the camera. If you allow yourself to sit with these characters and try to get inside each of their minds, it becomes quite a fascinating journey. It stars, again, surprise surprise, Ethan Hawke alongside Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman, and it is probably the quintessential Linklater film when it comes to really understanding his approach to naturalistic, authentic dialogue and conversation.
11. Hit Man (2023)
This most recent Linklater film is just a pure fun ride. It showcases Linklater’s ability to have audiences empathize with characters even if their actions may on the surface seem a touch absurd. He is able to separate himself from other directors by having these characters remain grounded despite the chaos that surrounds them. It is not a deep existential journey, although it does bring forward some interesting questions about self and identity, but more than anything else, it’s just fun. I would be very surprised if anyone actively disliked this project.
10. School of Rock (2003)
This 2003 film is probably the most well-known for folks who don’t necessarily follow Linklater as a director. It’s the film that always is assigned to him if he’s putting out a film that is a little bit more for the mainstream; you’ll get that line of “Richard Linklater, director of School of Rock“. And it’s well known for good reason. It is an absolute blast, despite being a little bit less Linklater and a little bit more studio. Of course, this is another collaboration with Jack Black and I think does demonstrate some of Black’s range. I’ve already discussed a little bit how he is typecast at times but is able and capable of portraying a nuanced character even when he goes to the extremes. At the end of the day, School of Rock is very much a studio comedy. It’s accessible and works for folks of all ages, and that’s not a knock on the film; it just doesn’t take some risks that could propel it further up this list. That being said, the writing here from Mike White is super effective. This is not a Linklater-written project, and it is a film that people will continue to go back to. It’s now over 20 years since its release, and it remains a favorite of many individuals.
9. Before Midnight (2013)
This 2013 film is the third in the Before Trilogy. Of course, the other two coming up later on this list. Before Midnight is mostly universally regarded as the weakest, although still essentially praised across the board, but not quite in the tier of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. There are a multitude of reasons that could be contributing to this. It could be due to the simple fact that the novelty of a trilogy set nine years literally apart from one another, filmed and released nine years apart, has worn off. It could also be due to the fact that we have some other characters introduced in this third installment, whereas in the first two films, we really just have Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke talking and working through their relationship together. For me personally, I think something that holds it back from being higher on this list is the fact that I’m not there yet. I have lived through Before Sunrise. I am currently around the age of the characters in Before Sunset, but I don’t have any children. I am not going through a potential separation from my wife. The conflicts and the difficulties that these characters are going through are that third installment in life. So while the first film allows me to reflect nostalgically on this romanticism that I have held and somewhat lost through the years, and the second highlights the existential questioning of my career, my relationships, and my path forward, there isn’t as strong of a connection to Before Midnight. It is still a great film, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it moves up this list as I move on through my life.
8. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
This 2006 film stars Keanu Reeves and is the second of three rotoscoped projects from Linklater on this list. The rotoscoping here brings such an immersive, dreamlike experience to a film. It follows Reeves’s character as he lives this dual life as an undercover agent cracking down on drugs while also being an addict of these drugs himself. It is no coincidence that this film came out in the mid-2000s, following the introduction of the Patriot Act, which led to what many have coined as a surveillance state in the United States. This project certainly touches on those themes of privacy, government overreach, and this dystopian future kind of slowly creeping in without us realizing.
7. Slacker (1990)
This 1990 film is the first Linklater project that received any sort of theatrical release, premiering at Sundance and essentially launching his career as an independent filmmaker. It is another project that can be seen as quintessential Linklater. It is a truly independent project filmed on a very small budget featuring a very small supporting performance from Linklater himself. This one isn’t a traditional narrative and might be a touch slow for some folks, but its use of so many individual vignettes that appear separate on the surface but upon reflection are deeply intertwined is a truly rewarding experience if you allow yourself to slow down and explore life with these slackers. This early Linklater film really explores what it’s like to be young without purpose and is one of many projects that has a specific emphasis on Texas, which is where Linklater is from and continues to work. He never left Texas to create in New York or Los Angeles, and because of that, it just holds this genuineness within these characters and is not particularly judgmental but simply presenting these young folks as they may be.
6. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
This 2016 film initially had me feeling very differently than I do now. When I started watching Everybody Wants Some!! when it first came out, the first act had me at such a distance that I almost didn’t want to continue watching. It starts off as what seems like a rowdy and raucous comedy. It seemed to lack depth, but I should never have doubted Linklater. I don’t remember who first said this, but it has really stuck with me. Some have coined Linklater as a “jock poet,” and while on the surface this title might seem a bit silly, it really is an accurate depiction of Linklater and his expression of masculinity. It’s a view of masculinity that I can relate to deeply because it contains levels and nuance to what it means to be a man. Linklater highlights the testosterone-fueled adventures and problematic behavior that many men partake in, but he is never preaching either way. He’s not suggesting that these men should be absolved of their sins, nor is he suggesting that simply because individuals have acted in a certain way, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have another side to themselves that they might be keeping inside. Everybody Wants Some!! perfectly captures this idea. It shows young men in college doing things that perhaps they shouldn’t be but also shows them in a light where they are reflective, where they are questioning themselves and the world around them. And as I mentioned, it is never judgmental. It simply shows these different sides to masculinity, both on a personal and a societal level. Of course, Linklater is pulling a bit from his own experience here, as he himself played baseball in college and has filled these different roles within the different characters in this film.
5. Waking Life (2001)
This 2001 film is the third and final rotoscoped project from director Richard Linklater, and it is probably his strongest rotoscoped work. Somewhat similar to A Scanner Darkly, it has this dreamlike quality, albeit a bit more overt here, as Waking Life is essentially one long lucid dream. I first watched this film when I was actually obsessed with lucid dreaming myself, so understandably it left an impact on me that has never quite departed. It is a meandering film in all the best ways. It is fluid in its movement as we weave through conversations of existential dread, philosophy, and morality. And in classic Linklater fashion, it does not serve you answers on a platter but instead forces further questioning. At the end of the day, it’s a movie that forces you to think but then asks you to feel. It is a journey of inner thought, doubt, questioning, belief, and I think that everyone’s experience with it will be a little bit different.
4. Dazed and Confused (1993)
This 1993 film is of course a classic. It is another project that many folks immediately associate with Linklater, and for good reason. It is tremendously funny while also being tremendously thoughtful, and it’s left us with some of the most iconic lines from films of that era, most notably Matthew McConaughey‘s character as a 20-some-year-old still hanging around the high school. What makes this film so strong though is that it doesn’t just stop with the high school stereotypes. We have so many films that explore the last day of school and the high school dynamics between the jocks and the nerds and the goths, but Linklater takes it further without us even realizing it. When we reflect upon the intricacies of the interactions between these characters, we can really see Linklater’s penchant for underlying existential questioning. It really is a film about memory and nostalgia. It’s not exactly a film set in the 1970s. Yes, that is the time in which these characters are existing, but it’s really a film that is set in 1993 when it was made and is reflecting on an earlier time. It’s aware of its nostalgic approach to the filmmaking process and doesn’t hide that.
3. Boyhood (2014)
This 2014 film was an experiment that went better than I think even Linklater himself could have ever expected. It was filmed from 2002 to 2013, following the same boy as he ages, as he goes through adolescence, teenage years, and ultimately heads off to college. Basically, they would follow Ellar Coltrane, who played this boy becoming a man, and they would film for a couple months every year, generally in the summer, and craft this narrative as they go. Linklater had kind of signposts in place, but the script was fluid as he learned more about Coltrane and the story he wanted or needed to tell came about naturally. I remember watching this in theaters and being absolutely blown away. It is, I think, quite literally a film that only Richard Linklater could make. He has had this interest with time and is actually creating another project along these lines starring Paul Mescal, but that’s for another time. His ability again to say so much while just presenting humans as they are is brilliant. For other filmmakers, it tends to go in one of two directions. Either it’s too boring and slow and there’s nothing of substance being explored, or it becomes forced and contrived and we end up finding it difficult to relate to these characters. That is just not the case in Boyhood. We have a film in which we feel like we are privy to a story that we aren’t supposed to be hearing and seeing. Of course, Coltrane is strong here, as is Ethan Hawke (again, another appearance) and Patricia Arquette, and it so beautifully shows the turmoil of family, friendship, and growing up.
2. Before Sunrise (1995)
This 1995 film, the first in the Before Trilogy, was always going to be number one or number two for me, and it was honestly a very last-minute decision to have it at number two. This is the film that I have literally watched more than any other film in my life. Every few months, I go back and reread the screenplay, rewatch the film, because it has been so tremendously impactful on my own life and my own approach to art and writing and film. We have a project here where everything seems effortless. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are pitch perfect here. They both portray these young lovers holding on to a romantic view of the world better than anyone else could have done. It’s a film that forces you, if you are past your early 20s, to reflect on the ideas that you held, the beliefs that you had about love and about the world, and it makes you re-evaluate perhaps some of your pessimism that naturally comes as you age. It takes place over the course of one night, but it feels like we spend a lifetime with these characters. It feels like we know them inside and out, and of course that is attributable to Richard Linklater’s direction, but also due to the writing of Linklater and Kim Krizan, with contributions from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. They were given the opportunity to revise dialogue, to contribute their own thoughts and feelings of how exactly these characters would interact within this film. There are a handful of my favorite moments in film, from sitting and listening to “Come Here” by Kath Bloom in a record store, to riverside poems, to imaginary phone calls. There is so much to love and to come back to.
1. Before Sunset (2004)
This 2004 sequel to Before Sunrise took the top spot by the narrowest of margins. Before Sunset is shot in real-time, which means that the runtime of the film matches the time that has elapsed in this fictional world. This is extremely challenging to demonstrate enough growth, enough development, enough conflict in such a short amount of real-time, but we’re talking about Linklater here, and to no one’s surprise, it is perfect. The conversations in the car between Delpy‘s character and Hawke‘s character are some of the greatest conversations, some of the greatest pieces of dialogue that you can ever find. They so beautifully articulate the struggles that they’re experiencing in their early 30s, the questions that they have about themselves, about the other, about the world, and all of the seemingly never-ending problems associated with it. But again, Linklater is able to do this without pretension. He’s able to do this in a way that is so natural and so real and that cannot be replicated by anyone else. Again, so much credit does need to be given to Hawke and Delpy because they carry this film. They are really the only two characters of any significance, and we spend every moment with them. It’s a perfect companion to Before Sunrise. It holds some of that romanticism that we have in the first film, but now it’s being challenged by pragmatism and the realities of aging and being faced with these responsibilities and the reality that some of their romantic notions never truly came to fruition.
To end it all off, it literally has what is my personal favorite last scene, last sentence, last moment in any film.
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