The Living End (film)

The Living End is a 1992 American comedydrama film by Gregg Araki. Described by some critics as a gay Thelma and Louise, the film is an early entry in the New Queer Cinema genre. The Living End was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992.

The films soundtrack is mostly industrial, post punk and shoegazing music. Many references to bands and their members are made throughout the film. Joy Divisions Ian Curtis is mentioned, along with Dead Can Dance, Echo amp the Bunnymen and others. A Nine Inch Nails sticker is on the dashboard of Jons car. The films title comes from a song by The Jesus and Mary Chain, and a cover version of the JAMC song is performed by Wax Trax Records artists Braindead Soundmachine during the films credits. Early in the movie, Luke is seen wearing a JAMC shirt. Braindead Soundmachine guitarist Cole Coonce is credited with scoring the films original music.Janet Maslin of The New York Times found The Living End to be a candid, freewheeling road movie with the power of honesty and originality, as well as the weight of legitimate frustration. Miraculously, it also has a buoyant, mischievous spirit that transcends any hint of gloom. She praised Araki for his solid grasp on his lead characters plight and for not trivializing it or inventing an easy ending. Conversely, Rita Kempley for The Washington Post called the film pretentious and Araki a cinematic poseur along the lines of JeanLuc Godard and Andy Warhol. The Living End, she concluded, is mostly annoying. Rolling Stones Peter Travers found The Living End a savagely funny, sexy and grieving cry made more heartrending by Hollywoods gutless fear of AIDS movies. ........

Source: Wikipedia