Borderline Dangerous
A not-so-generous reading of American independent filmmaking in the 1990s would declare any stylized genre film with a hint of dark humor as a blatant ripoff of Quentin Tarantino’s work, given that Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction epitomized the route-to-success desired by any up-and-coming director. In reality, Tarantino’s work was a byproduct of a larger movement within the industry precipitated by greater accessibility of filmmaking tools; for the first time in the history of the medium, festivals were a means to find the next breakout hit, a way for indie writer-directors to audition for better gigs. Tarantino and his colleagues David O. Russell, Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Robert Rodriguez rose to the top of this movement because their films mixed and matched influences in a way that felt fresh.
Although Tarantino and the other “American eccentric cinema” leaders developed techniques that spawned countless imitators, few shared the same bespoke conception. 1990s indies were forced to become reliant on off-kilter narrative techniques for budgetary and logistical reasons that don’t apply to contemporary cinema. Jimmy Warden’s directorial debut Borderline is a throwback to the “New American Wave” of the 1990s because of its illuminating ideas, even if there are some stylization techniques that directly invoke Go, Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead, Grosse Point Blank, and other niche favorites from the decade. That the film is set in the 1990s is less relevant than the dynamic between its two leads, which is removed from any judgment regarding morality and ethics.
Although it's set at an ambiguous point in Los Angeles in the 1990s, Borderline presumably takes place after the O.J. Simpson trial put a spotlight on the underbelly of celebrity culture in L.A. The pop star Sofia Minor (Samara Weaving) is an established enough name that she’s attracted a following, but hasn’t reached the level of fame that would grant her extensive protection. The only person that’s sandwiched in-between Sofia and her obsessive fans is her bodyguard, Bell (Eric Dane), who previously suffered a near-fatal stabbing at the hands of his client’s stalker, Paul Duerson (Ray Nicholson). Bell returns to Sofia’s side, despite the fears of his prepubescent daughter; Sofia has pursued the basketball player Rhodes (Jimmie Fails) to be a co-star in her next film, but she’s unaware that Paul’s affections for her have grown stronger in the six months since their last encounter.
The 1990s setting is not only instrumental in identifying popular culture archetypes, such as the “pop star-turned-actress” or the “basketball player with Hollywood ambitions,” but in the removal of hyper-awareness. In the generation before the internet gave the public a personal level of access to the private lives of famous people, a deranged fan like Paul would have to work hard to follow Sofia’s movements and develop his own reading of her personality. Likewise, a lack of cell phones and digital tracking is essential to keep the story self-contained. Without any simple ways to call in for help, these characters are left to fend for themselves by means of frontier justice.
The other nostalgic twist to Borderline is that the film’s willing to unapologetically introduce a straight up sociopathic character without any attempt to rationalize his behavior or frame it as part of a societal ill. Borderline doesn’t suggest that celebrity culture is to blame for the deranged, one-sided relationship Paul has formed with Sofia, but it did provide him with tools to learn more about her. Bell’s notably a generation older than the other characters, and has presumably lived through race riots, anti-government protests, and the dawn of the “war on drugs.” It’s with confusion and exasperation that his return to field work is incited by a group of basement-dwelling weirdos who’ve fallen in love with a mediocre recording artist.
A fascinating trend in contemporary entertainment journalism has been the ostracization of supposed “nepo babies.” There wasn’t anything revelatory about the article that first pointed out this trend; those with well-known last names would naturally have an advantage in a competitive industry, and it’s not unusual for children to follow the same career route as their parents. The mock outrage over “nepo babies” has gone too far in instances where it has been claimed that it’s impossible for these second-generation artists to have any genuine talent of their own; Borderline is evidence to the contrary because of the strong performances by Ray (son of Jack Nicholson) and Samara (daughter of Hugo Weaving).
Weaving’s snappy, detached sense of boredom couldn’t be more different than the more formal roles of her father. Although Sofia has reaped the benefits of her newfound stardom, she’s still taken aback by the idea that someone has been hyper-fixated on her career. Nicholson had a more interesting challenge, given that his father’s responsible for creating some of the most memorable sociopaths and villains in cinema. Nonetheless, Paul’s a character who doesn’t have the clout and charisma of Jack Torrance, the Joker, or The Departed’s Frank Costello. Rather, he’s a misguided Romeo whose Juliet doesn’t seem to know of his existence. Instead of reacting with rage, Paul’s continued to operate in his own warped reality, which has led him to aggressively force others to bend to his perception of the world.
Borderline can’t be pinned down to one specific genre. It’s not depraved enough to reach the salaciousness of Kalifornia, but its media satire isn’t developed enough to compare with To Die For or Natural Born Killers. Although there are a few Tarantino-esque subversions of the timeline, a majority of the film is told chronologically with little manipulation. What’s impressive about Borderline is its willingness to experiment without committing to a singular area of focus, which is reason enough to make Warden an artist worthy of following up on. In the case of Nicholson and Weaving, it’s confirmation that any relative success they’ve achieved was done purely on merit.