My Own Private Idaho

Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho (1991) follows the story of Mike Waters, a narcoleptic street hustler, who is accompanied by his best friend Scott Favor on his search for his estranged mother. What interested me in the film is the main character’s condition of narcolepsy as this is something that is not commonly portrayed in films or on television.

I remember watching an old video on Facebook about a person suffering from the same disorder which featured how she would get through the day. Luckily for her, her significant other was always there to take care of her whenever she fell asleep. For Mike, this person would be Scott at the start of the film. Towards the end, however, even he abandons Mike and his loyalty to his friends in the world of street hustling for the good life.

It seemed like Mike just couldn’t get a break. He is a handsome young man. I couldn’t get over the fact that he looked like an old school Harry Styles. A man with a lot of potential but unfortunately has to go great lengths just to get by in the world, unlike his best friend who has everything he wants in life and could just get up and leave this world behind at any time. Mike doesn’t have the same liberty and left even more vulnerable because of his disorder.

He already lives an unfortunate life, having to survive by living as a street hustler who has sex with anyone who could pay. All he ever wanted was to find his mother who gives him a sense of peace whenever he goes into a narcotic episode. Not only is he suffering from narcolepsy, but whenever he gets close to finding his mother, it is revealed that she had left and is back to square one. In the end, he never finds her and even his best friend left, leaving him with no one that genuinely cares about him anymore.

It was really sad to see Mike heartbroken over Scott after he was rejected by him and even abandoned in an unfamiliar country for a woman they had just met. He is back in the middle of the road like he had been at the beginning of the movie with no clue where to go. He is even stripped of his belongings by thieves when he fell into another narcoleptic episode.

It was just as sad when Scott rejects his “family,” especially Bob Pigeon, in front of everyone at the restaurant. Then, after being denied and lied to by Scott, Bob dies of a heart attack. The only part that gave me satisfaction was when they held a rowdy funeral for Bob at the cemetery which contrasted well with the bland funeral Scott attended for his deceased father.

This movie was just a big ball of sadness for me. In the end, with no luck finding his mother and having been forgotten by his best friend, I’m not so sure if he was ever even able to find his own private Idaho.