Keanu Reeves puts paid to the idea that he's a limited or one-dimensional actor here, a mere two years after he gained that reputation from 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.' 'My Own Private Idaho' is the kind of film that independent cinema exists for and was far ahead of its time when it was released in 1991.
Gus Vant Sant brought us this movie, which is another case of Shakespeare's classic texts being borrowed; this time it's 'Henry IV Part 1'. It's a gritty tale which focuses on male prostitutes trying to make a better life for themselves while refusing to recognize their own sexuality, considering it to be a profession more than an orientation. Bringing it to the screen was almost a lifetime of work for Van Sant; he wrote the original screenplay during the 1970s. He had to completely re-write it after reading a John Rechy novel named 'City of Night' and discovering he'd accidentally plagiarized part of it.