Another guest essay, this time from my other sister Zoe. She and I have a long history of enjoying movies together so it’s my pleasure to introduce her review of her own personal movie blitz: The Keanuthon. I enjoyed it a bunch, I think you will too.
I discovered my love for Keanu Reeves in my high school IB Philosophy class. It was spring of senior year, which is about the time that you’re supposed to tune out. I couldn’t though. While everyone else was online shopping for prom dresses and researching which colleges they should go to, I was still putting everything I had into the class that was basically done. There was genuinely a time when I left such thorough responses to my homework assignments that my teacher had to pull me aside to tell me that I don’t have to do that much.
We had these movie assignments every few months to 1) apply the philosophies we learned in modern media and 2) give our teacher an opportunity to watch YouTube shorts on mute for the ninety-minute class. At the time, I wasn’t particularly a “movie watcher” (I specialized in Disney Channel original movies and Netflix rom coms), so this seriously stressed me out. I frantically referred to the assigned questions throughout these movies, while also trying to make sense of what the hell was going on in an effort to somehow write two paragraphs for each question (we needed 3-4 sentences) and turn it in by the end of class.
One day, our movie was The Matrix, which apparently had a lot of philosophical themes (does it?). The Matrix is one of those movies that I heard about when I was younger because it was popular when my parents watched those kinds of movies. It’s one of those movies that I perceived to be too advanced for my movie brain that was primarily capable of consuming love triangles and “cute moments” without the help of another person spelling it out for me. In other words, I was intimidated.
None of that mattered by the time I was done watching. I loved it. I think I physically felt a switch flip in my brain, which now differentiated my perception of movie-watching as pre-Matrix and post-Matrix. I don’t think I was able to explain why I loved it, and I still don’t know if I do. It was just probably the sickest thing I’ve ever seen, which might be enough explanation for me.
Ever since that moment, there’s been at least a small part of me that’s been perpetually craving for that exact flavor of coolness. I wanted to experience it again – to bask in my awe of how awesome Keanu Reeves was in that role. That summer, I was on a movie-watching kick: I watched 44 movies total, including the sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, which somehow exceeded my expectations in every way. From then on, it was decided: me liking Keanu Reeves is part of my personality. I texted my college friend group in demand for a Matrix-themed birthday party that December.
Flash forward one year later, this summer. It’s my last summer home, which means that I feel about done here for now. I love my hometown, but there’s not much for me to do here. Often, the most interesting part of my day is the access to as many movies I want with all of my free time – at home or in theaters. The Ballerina came out in June, and I agreed to watch a few John Wick movies in preparation. My motive: Keanu Reeves. Spoiler alert, I love that franchise. What’s not to love, if not Keanu Reeves being cool and fighting enemies?
The night that we watched The Ballerina, I did not have an awesome time. For a John Wick-adjacent film, it was a sad little sister. It was really bad. I missed Keanu. And isn’t that the truth, because when I went to sleep that night, I had this crazy dream that I was in a Keanu Reeves action film.
I woke up and to my dismay, that wasn’t real. But you know what is real? A bunch of other Keanu Reeves action films! Half asleep, I went to Chat GPT and searched for movies that had Keanu Reeves in them and were sick. A few hours later, I was in the library on the search for as many Keanu Reeves DVDs as I could find.
It’s no secret that I love action movies with Keanu Reeves starring in them. But soon I started to wonder if action movies are the limit of his talents, or if he has untapped acting performances that no one talks about.
A Scanner Darkly (2006) – Richard Linklater
In my Chat GPT frenzy, A Scanner Darkly may have been the most intriguing to me. Keanu doing sci-fi? Been there, done that. Keanu in an animated film? That’s interesting!
A Scanner Darkly uses a form of animation called rotoscope interpolation, in which the movie is filmed as usual, then a program animated over it on a frame-by-frame basis. I was surprised to find that I’ve actually seen a lot of movies that use rotoscope interpolation, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s a really valuable form of movies because it can keep the realistic aspects of a “normal” movie, while being able to add elements, which is perfect for the sci-fi genre.
This movie used rotoscope interpolation to show a crazed dystopian society, where 20% of the population was addicted to a drug called Substance D. As with a lot of drugs, those who take it may be in control at first, but ultimately lose a sense of reality to the drug’s hallucinations. Audiences are able to see reality and an addict’s version of reality, but it’s up to them to figure out which one is which.
Admittedly, I came into watching this movie with more anxiety than was probably necessary because I was watching it for something. I always have thoughts about what I watch, but the idea of having them organized into written form made me feel fearful in a similar way I was about getting a movie assignment submitted in my high school philosophy class.
That being said, I could tell it was a good storyline, and the choice of rotoscope interpolation was a perfect way to portray the disillusion and surveillance that the characters had to endure in their society. Also, one important thing to note is that I have a debilitating fear of hallucinations. From the second I realized that someone was hallucinating (the first scene), I was terrified and distracted. By the end of the movie, I wasn’t completely sure what had happened, but I think that could truly be attributed to my conscious efforts of blocking out the hallucinations.
Keanu played the protagonist of the movie, but he didn’t do too well. He wasn’t nearly expressive enough – he was kind of giving us nothing, even with the twist at the end. Oh well.
★★★
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – Francis Ford Coppola
For this one, I was curious about how Keanu would be in something more dependent on acting, like a Gothic horror piece. Boy, did I get everything I needed to know! I don’t really know what I was expecting, when the movies I’ve seen him in that I liked at this point are when he serves minimal lines and a lot of face, but I just wanted to see.
This was an interesting one. From the get-go, it’s pretty obvious that this is one of those movies where a bunch of A-list celebrities were cast into a movie, probably without any auditions or chemistry tests. Either everyone was giving different amounts of effort into their acting, or everyone had really different abilities to act (I fear it’s the latter). All-around, performances were mid, except for Anthony Hopkins. I found myself periodically checking how much time there was left in the movie so that I could move on. It was super slow, which I guess is the best case scenario for me watching horror by myself.
But wow, Keanu’s performance was exceptional in just how awful it was. First of all, he had this British accent, and it feels disrespectful for me to even call it that. You were really only able to tell it was an attempt at a British accent based on context clues that everyone else had a British accent as well. Luckily, he had, like, twenty lines.
At a certain point, I started to wonder why he was cast in the first place. At this point in his career, he was on the come-up. As I’m learning, he isn’t good at acting, so I guess he didn’t particularly need this to showcase that. I found out soon enough that he was likely cast for the sex appeal. Francis Ford Coppola had a very sexual take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and I know this because I had kept the volume at one because of how much moaning there was. At the time, he was the new hot guy of cinema, and they needed someone who audiences wanted to see have his nippled licked for thirty seconds straight. I respect it, but I don’t think it was a great choice since he did such a poor job.
★★★
Point Break (1991) – Kathryn Bigelow
I’ve asked a few older adults about Keanu Reeves, and other than The Matrix, they seem to always point to Point Break. And that was truly all I needed to know to dive into this movie head-first.
We cannot keep pretending that I feel neutral about this movie. I loved it. LOVED!!! It absolutely revived me, and I haven’t been the same since. Summer didn’t technically start until I watched this movie, which is a true fact. First of all, I watched on a Friday night, which is the best day of the week for the vibe. I was also coming off of two movies that I didn’t really enjoy, which is half of my entire Keanu Reeves marathon. I was starting to question whether I really liked Keanu Reeves or not, which would be devastating if I concluded that he wasn’t worth it since I kind of made it my personality. It was also precisely what I was itching for when I woke up from that Keanu Reeves dream. I was on top of the world.
The funny thing is, I’m not 100% on the plot here. I tried recollecting what I watched the next day, but I’m pretty sure I blacked out and was just vibes for a hot second, which is a compliment. Here’s what I do know: this movie is extremely California summer, it’s directed by a woman and it shows, and Keanu Reeves surfing and wears a crop top. It’s also action-packed with heists and chases, has heartfelt male friendships, and it was sick. If you recall, that’s my mission statement for this project in the first place. Basically, this is an almost perfect movie if you’re me.
Did I like this movie because it was Keanu doing action? Perhaps, and that’s okay. All I know is that we’re so back
★★★★ ½
My Own Private Idaho (1991) – Gus Van Sant
My Own Private Idaho is a cult classic and is primarily remembered today because of River Phoenix, who starred alongside Keanu Reeves. Two years after the release of the film, River died on Halloween from a drug overdose, which is so crazy. He’s praised today for his involvement, which definitely caught my eye.
The first thing I noticed was that it was visually a gorgeous film. It was directed by Gus Van Sant, and it was released six years before Good Will Hunting, so there were definitely some parallels there. The costuming and cinematography were stylistic and breathtaking.
This film had so much heart. It was tender and heartbreaking, and I loved it. It was a stream of consciousness film, which I usually mind, except for this time. Mike (River) has narcolepsy, and constantly is unable to differentiate between his imagination and reality. He and Scott (Keanu) travel the world in search of Mike’s mom. It’s a movie about unrequited love, class, and the lifestyle of hustlers. There was a specific scene where Mike attempts to share his feelings for Scott that River wrote himself, and the way he acts in it with Keanu is haunting and burned into my brain.
My Own Private Idaho was initially pitched as a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s play King Henry IV, and it shows. While the final result turned out to be a very loose adaptation because of consumer purposes, you can definitely tell when someone has a “monologue” and the Shakespearean goofy characters that are well-known, no matter how much Shakespeare you’ve read. As someone you loves plays, this is a big win for me!
As for Keanu, he did well! He played the character well. Is that because his character was written to be detached and aloof? Yeah, and that’s fine. I still love this movie.
There are certain pieces of media that just cut through to me and make me want to put it on display, shouting “HELLO THIS IS A GOOD PIECE OF ART AND IS A PART OF ME NOW!!” This is one of them. I cannot wait to rewatch.
★★★★ ½
Before I leave…
My intent going into this movie blitz was that I love Keanu Reeves, and my major takeaway after this movie blitz is that I still love Keanu Reeves. There’s no one who does it like him in his special way, and I mean that with full acknowledgement that it’s possible that he’s really not a great actor. And that is super okay!
Throughout this experience, I’ve questioned why I’m really doing this. At this point, it is not a bit that I like Keanu Reeves anymore – I clearly always have. I guess I feel this part of me that has Keanu Reeves to thank for my movie-watching experience. Before I watched The Matrix, I was so neutral about movies. When I finally did, I felt this energy and excitement that started a new chapter of my life that’s fulfilled by watching movies.
Also, in a trying-not-to-be-parasocial way, I love the guy!! I am so rooting for him and I want him to succeed so bad.
Brb omw to watch four more Keanu movies
Center of Gravity 
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