The 9 Best Richard Linklater Movies, Ranked

Director Richard Linklater might not have the same grand-standing reputation as Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino, but that hardly denotes his abilities as an endlessly creative filmmaker.

Arriving on the scene in the early 1990s, Linklater promptly changed the nature of independent film, introducing a loose, meandering, anarchic tone that prioritized characterization and dialogue over traditional stories.

Since then, Linklater has become one of the most talented directors of the modern generation, his films consistently exploring the hopes, fears, and carefree nature of growing up, as well as regularly toying with chronological storytelling time and time again. From his breakthrough work on School of Rock and Dazed and Confused to his latest ventures with Everybody Wants Some!! and Hit Man, here are some of Richard Linklater’s absolute greatest films, ranked in order from worst to best.

9. Slacker (1990)

Made on a shoestring budget and relying on an extensive lineup of amateur and aspiring actors, Slacker forms one of the most unique and evocative directorial debuts ever put to the screen. Shunning any semblance of a formal plot or underlying premise, Linklater instead uses his film to catalog some of Austin’s most eccentric residents, from motor-mouthed taxi drivers to JFK conspiracy theorists and elderly anarchists. A defining film in 1990s independent cinema, it continues to hold up as one of the most impressive additions to Linklater’s filmography yet.

8. Waking Life (2001)

In many ways, Waking Life forms what can almost be described as a spiritual continuation of 1990’s Slacker. Incorporating a similarly loose-knit main storyline, Waking Life follows a young man as he navigates the world of his dreams, including the meaningful lessons he learns from the individuals he meets on his lucid journey. Thoughtful, sincere, and ceaselessly creative in terms of its story, characters, and animation, it’s a movie capable of changing your entire view on what exactly movies can be in the first place (a realization most of Linklater’s best films tend to impart on viewers).

7. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

While not an official sequel to Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!! provides a fascinating counterpart to Linklater’s fan-favorite 1993 comedy. Whereas Dazed and Confused is set over a single night in the mid 1970s, Everybody Wants Some!! follows a group of college baseball players over one week before the start of their semester in the early 1980s. Swapping out high school for university, Linklater captures the cathartic experiences that come with the first few days of college, punctuated by meeting new friends, enjoying new experiences, and forging new romantic relationships with classmates that catch our attention.

6. Hit Man (2023)

Like his Anyone but You co-star Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell has experienced a massive surge in popularity over the past few years, resulting in a variety of starring roles in movies like Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters, and 2023’s Hit Man. With the latter, Powell proves his impressive range as a dramatic and comedic performer, eloquently portraying an undercover New Orleans police contractor who disguises himself as an unscrupulous killer-for-hire. Donning a variety of personas in his ongoing sting operations, Powell hands in the performance of a lifetime with Linklater’s Hit Man, further solidifying his place as one of the most buzzworthy actors working in Hollywood today.

5. Bernie (2011)

Bernie may not be Linklater’s best-known film, but that doesn’t prevent it from living on as one of the director’s strongest outings yet. Opting for a mockumentary-style presentation, this 2011 dark comedy focuses on an actual murder case involving a mild-mannered Texas mortician and the domineering 81-year-old millionaire he befriends in his personal life. A true crime thriller that’s as surprisingly humorous as it is genuinely shocking, Bernie never slows down or lets up throughout its 99-minute runtime, holding audiences’ unwavering attention in the palm of its hand from start to finish.

4. School of Rock (2003)

What’s not to love about School of Rock? Whether looking at Jack Black’s energetic lead performance, its head-bopping music sequences, or zany comedic tone, School of Rock is an electric family-friendly comedy capable of delighting a universal audience of viewers. Even when evaluating its infectious sense of humor or agreeable music numbers, though, School of Rock succeeds first and foremost as a coming of age film that encourages viewers to live life according to their own rules. From accepting our individual strengths to triumphing over our prevalent insecurities, School of Rock galvanizes audiences to prioritize the positive aspects of life over the negative – a cathartic lesson espoused in almost every one of Linklater’s most lauded films.

3. The Before Trilogy

Linklater has always thrived when showing how time transforms his individual characters, whether over the course of a single night or decades apart from one another (as is the case with his heartrending Before trilogy). Set and filmed in intervals of nine years, Linklater’s Before trilogy chronicles the fledgling romance between two young adults as they mature from passionate lovers in their 20s to struggling parents in their 40s. A minimalist comedic epic that tackles the deeper questions of life, relationships, and the undeniable toll time has on our psyches, each chapter in the Before trilogy is a certified masterpiece in and of itself.

2. Boyhood (2014)

While Linklater has regularly experimented with the passage of time in his films, Boyhood finds the director conjuring up his most ambitious project yet. Exploring a decade in a young boy’s life, Boyhood actually involved Linklater and his crew shooting the film over 11 long years of production, showcasing each cast member’s literal growth as the movie draws on. An immersive portrayal of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, Boyhood analyzes how each of us slowly change and mature over time, our past experiences, grueling hardships, and life-altering moments influencing who we are and the type of person we’re destined to become. 

1. Dazed and Confused (1993)

You don’t need to be a teenager or have been born in the ‘70s to enjoy Linklater’s career-defining work with 1993’s Dazed and Confused. A fun and light-hearted portrayal of its 1970s high school settings, Dazed and Confused traces a wide array of teens from opposing social groups as they experience the last day of the school year and the first night of summer vacation. Bolstered by an ensemble cast of soon-to-be household names like Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, and Parker Posey, Dazed and Confused captures the trials and tribulations that come with reaching young adulthood, from grappling with newfound responsibilities to simply learning to enjoy the present moment with your closest friends by your side.