To Die For

AFS Cinema is bringing To Die For back to the big screen this month, with screenings on Friday, July 17, Sunday, July 19, and Wednesday, July 23. It's a Gus Van Sant film from 1995, and if you've never seen it, it's a black comedy based on a true story that takes a sharp swipe at America's fascination with television and celebrity.

Nicole Kidman leads the cast as Suzanne Stone, a villainously ambitious weather reporter who will stop at nothing to leave her small suburban life behind. It's one of those roles she really sinks her teeth into—the kind of performance that earns the 'Big Star' label. The movie is written by Buck Henry, and together they build a character who's as dangerous as she is determined to get out of her hometown. The supporting cast is just as deep, with Ileana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, and Casey Affleck all appearing. Seeing it in a theater lets you track the slow-burn tension and the dark humor that might get lost if you're just watching it on a laptop.

What makes it work now is how well it holds up. It was made for the daytime-TV desperados of the nineties, but it feels just as relevant to a social-media-obsessed crowd today. The obsession with visibility, the performance of public persona, and the lengths people will go to for a bigger platform—those things haven't changed, they've just moved to a different screen. It's a movie that understands the specific kind of hunger that comes from feeling like your life is too small for you, and the wreckage that follows when that hunger turns into something truly reckless.

Tickets are $14 for evening shows and $11.50 for matinees, which run Monday through Friday for screenings before 5 PM. There are also discounts for AFS members, AISD educators, and students. You can catch it at AFS Cinema, 6406 N I-35 Suite 3100, on July 17, 19, and 23.