''Permanent Record'' is a 1988 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film starring

Pamela Gidley Pamela Catherine Gidley (June 11, 1965 – April 16, 2018) was an American actress and model. She began her career as an actress in 1986, debuting in the film ''Thrashin, before appearing in a number of films, including '' Dudes'' (1987), ''Ch ...

Michelle Meyrink Michelle Meyrink (born September 1, 1962) is a Canadian teacher and former actress. Early life Meyrink was born on September 1, 1962 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and began acting at an early age. Acting career She performed roles du ...

, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Rubin, and Alan Boyce. It was filmed on location in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and Yaquina Head near Newport on the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

. The film primarily deals with the profound effect of suicide, and how friends and family work their way through the grief.

Plot

David Sinclair (Alan Boyce) seems to have everything. He is smart, talented, funny, and popular. He is best friends with Chris Townsend (Keanu Reeves), a quirky outsider. He seems to have it all together, yet as his personal academic expectations and those of his parents become overwhelming, he seemingly is keeping emotional problems a secret to himself. At a party with his school friends along the coast, he takes a walk to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Chris, playful as ever, decides to sneak up on his friend, but when he emerges from behind a rock, David is not there. He has fallen to his death. Originally assumed to be a horrible accident, the situation changes when Chris receives a suicide note in the mail. Chris and David's girlfriend, Lauren (Jennifer Rubin), want to hold some type of memorial, but a reluctant school decides against it, leaving the kids to memorialize their friend in their own way.

Cast

* Keanu Reeves as Chris Townsend * Alan Boyce as David Sinclair *

as M.G. * Jennifer Rubin as Lauren *

Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awar ...

as Jim Sinclair *

Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...

as Martha Sinclair *

as Kim * Richard Bradford as Leo Verdell * Michael Elgart as Dakin *

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. Best known as Herb Kelcher in ''My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) ...

as Mr. McBain * Lou Reed as himself

Reception

''Permanent Record'' received mixed reviews from critics upon its release. The film holds a 47% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 15 reviews. Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' praised the film as one of the best 1988 had to offer, stating all the performances were appropriate to the material, whilst also praising Silver for finding authentic ways to portray emotions. '' Variety Reviews'' applauded Reeves' performance in the latter half of the film, citing Boyce's character's suicide as the primary reason, although also criticizing the female characters in the film. Rob Gonsalves of efilmcritic.com criticized the film, stating it was nothing more than a 'TV-Movie drama film,' whilst also criticizing the climax of the story. However, he also praised the performance of Keanu Reeves.

Soundtrack

The musical score for ''Permanent Record'' was composed by

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

, former member of the punk rock band

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. A soundtrack album was released in 1988 and featured five songs by

and

the Latino Rockabilly War The Latino Rockabilly War was a band most notable for backing The Clash frontman Joe Strummer on one album. With Strummer, the Latino Rockabilly War created the album '' Earthquake Weather'', released through Epic Records. The album was well r ...

with Keanu Reeves guest starring on rhythm guitar for the album's opening track, as well as individual tracks by Lou Reed,

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

BoDeans BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin. BoDeans came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to da ...

The Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

, and J. D. Souther.

References

External links

* * {{Marisa Silver 1988 films 1988 drama films American drama films American high school films Films about grieving Films about suicide Films directed by Marisa Silver Films set in Oregon Films shot in Oregon Films shot in Portland, Oregon Paramount Pictures films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films