There is no single defining form of a “Richard Linklater movie.” His output across 30+ years has spanned a wide variety of genres, tones, target audiences, and budgets. But many of his best films are united by a deep consideration of the passage of time. Whether it’s a single night or an entire decade (or, in the case of the Before sequels, both), these films have a ticking clock as its central subject as much as any character or narrative conflict.
Linklater was an avid and omnivorous movie fan as a college dropout working on an oil rig. He began his career with observational hangout films indebted to Robert Altman and John Cassavetes among others, but entirely his own creation thanks to an easygoing philosophical voice and a knack for production design. Before, he developed an ear for great use of music. Linklater has probed unlikely romances, lovable losers, conspiracy theories, and criminal enterprise. His biggest visual experiments have come in bespoke, rotoscoped animation, but his boldest strokes have been conceptual rather than formal: anti-plots and gambits and twisted tributes and how-dare-hes without ever crossing into avant garde. He hasn’t won an Oscar or earned $100 million at the box office, but he’s one of the most important living directors and one of my all-time favorites.
Podcast Episodes
Chronological
- Dazed and Confused (1993) (Masterpiece: Tour De Good)
- Before Sunrise (1995) (Masterpiece: Tour De Good)
- School of Rock (2003) (Exceptionally Good)
- Before Sunset (2004) (Masterpiece: Tour De Good)
- Before Midnight (2013) (Exceptionally Good)
- Everbody Wants Some!! (2016) (Exceptionally Good)
- Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022) (Good)
- Hit Man (2023) (Very Good)
By Rating
Masterpiece: Tour De Good (8/8)
Exceptionally Good (7/8)
Very Good (6/8)
Good (5/8)
Not Seen / Not Rated
- It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988) – amateur film
- Slacker (1990)
- SubUrbia (1996)
- The Newton Boys (1998)
- Waking Life (2001)
- Tape (2001)
- Bad News Bears (2005)
- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
- Fast Food Nation (2006)
- Me and Orson Welles (2008)
- Bernie (2011)
- Boyhood (2014)
- Last Flag Flying (2017)
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
- Nouvelle Vogue (2025)
Last Updated
- 9/29/2024
Review Index
| Title | Date | Film Year | Director | Is It Good | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hit Man (2023) | 06/15/2024 | 2023 | Linklater, Richard | 6 | New Release, Richard Linklater |
| Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022) | 10/27/2022 | 2022 | Linklater, Richard | 5 | 2022, Richard Linklater |
| Dazed and Confused (1993) | 10/15/2022 | 1993 | Linklater, Richard | 8 | Richard Linklater |
| Before Midnight (2013) | 04/10/2021 | 2013 | Linklater, Richard | 7 | Richard Linklater |
| Before Sunset (2004) | 04/09/2021 | 2004 | Linklater, Richard | 8 | Richard Linklater, 2009 Top 100 |
| Before Sunrise (1995) | 04/06/2021 | 1995 | Linklater, Richard | 8 | Richard Linklater |
| School of Rock (2003) | 03/18/2021 | 2003 | Linklater, Richard | 7 | Richard Linklater |
| Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) | 09/19/2020 | 2016 | Linklater, Richard | 7 | Richard Linklater |
