Word: auteurs
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Chasing Amy Underground-comix artists pair off, then square off in this romantic tragicomedy. He's full of sweetly uncomprehending machismo, she's gay but nervously alert to other possibilities. And auteur Kevin Smith (Clerks) has the best Gen X files in the business, full of compassionate observations on its mysterious manners and morals...
William Wyler, the auteur behind The Heiress, was one of Hollywood's most notoriously tyrannical directors, and the revenge drama he cooked out of James' original recipe essentially reflected his own fascination with power and retribution. What immediately distinguishes Agnieszka Holland's new version of Washington Square, then, is its remarkable synergy of subject and storytellers...
Director Nick Cassavetes is less a full-fledged auteur here than a cheerleader and referee, keeping the stars fighting without biting. Wright, like Maureen, is game for any outsize challenge, but her bantam desperation sounds shrill; at times she is overrun by the wild gestures that seize Maureen. Travolta, though, balances nicely on a seesaw of caring and exasperation; and Penn has every garish shade of Eddie in his palette. He gets the pain, charm and drive, the stumbling humor of a guy whose only religion is the woman who betrayed him. He turns a jerk into a heroic figure...
...LaBute, 34, a playwright making his debut as screen auteur, the flush of anger is a careermaking dream. "I'm more than happy that people are polarized," he says. "I'd much rather have somebody hate my movie than be indifferent about it." He would get his wish if he listened to TIME film critic Richard Schickel: "Other pictures that have broken out on the basis of sociological buzz, like Thelma & Louise, had appealing characters confronting interesting issues in suspenseful or comic fashion. But here all we are dealing with is sociopathic behavior that has no real-world resonance...
...only retitled the story, he also moved its location from Florida to California and changed the main character from a Caucasian to an African American. Phoning Leonard earlier this year, Tarantino confessed that he had been hesitant to call because of the alterations. But Leonard, who praises the young auteur's understanding of criminals and casually realistic dialogue, says he told him, "You're the filmmaker--use what you want and make your movie...