I didn't expect The Last Picture Show to be so somber. Truthfully, I was expecting yet another cheery 1950s flick filled with one cliche after another, one celebrating "the good ol' days" when no one had to lock the front door and one where all of life's trials and tribulations were forgotten over pot roast and an episode of I Love Lucy. I don't really know where I got the notion that this film would be that typical sentimental nostalgia fest (probably because every other seventies' look at the '50s glosses over any shortcomings of the time, a la Happy Days and Grease), and I really don't know why I'm admitting to everyone my error. I guess that I don't feel so sheepish because I am glad The Last Picture Show turned out to be what it is--a dark look at 1950s small town Texas, maturity, loss, sex, love. . . .

Peter Bogdonavich's amazing yet subtle 1971 work centers around two young men, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges), as they struggle with relationships, finishing high school, and going out into the world with futures that aren't bright. This sounds rather typical, but what happens is not. The dreary setting of Anarene, Texas, and characters with major flaws and grim realities show that the 1950s mythic America truly was simply a fabrication of situation comedies and automobile advertisements.

Post-high school, Sonny is foisted into several roles he isn't ready for (confused lover to a much older woman, owner of a local hangout, caretaker of a mildly retarded peer), while Duane escapes Anarene by enlisting. Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd in her film debut), the town beauty, stirs things up by aiming to be the subject of gossip. Jacy's mother, Lois (Ellen Burstyn), is the antithesis of any character Barbara Billingsley ever played. She tells Jacy like it is, urging her to have sex with beau Duane so she will become disenchanted with him and his weak performance, knowing that if Jacy stays in town, she will lose her vibrancy just as Lois did years earlier. Other townspeople, such as diner waitress Genevieve (Eileen Brennan) and pool hall owner Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson) give important insight to small town life and add both wry humor and gravity to the film.

The cinematography is understated and effective. Filmed in black and white, The Last Picture Show creates emotion through the contrast of light and dark. Awkward moments are made even more awkward and almost eerie through silence and lack of color; the town of Anarene appears emptier and even more draining through the sorrowful country music used as its soundtrack and through the visual techniques employed; Jacy's face is lit when she is winning with her manipulative ways, her face darkened when she is used.

Another atypical aspect of the film is its portrayal of generally mundane teenage actions: what would usually be shown as innocent explorations into adulthood and sexuality appear dirty or done out of boredom in The Last Picture Show. One also feels rather like a peeping tom spying on deeply personal or intense scenes (we witness Sonny dumping his steady on their anniversary after she won't go all the way; we also witness Jacy nervously yet coyly disrobing at a nude swimming party, as well as her later losing her virginity and partaking in other sexual exploits).

The Last Picture Show is a story that ties a town together through rites of passage and a bleak environment. The film moves a bit slowly in parts, making the viewer ponder the meaning of the characters' actions. And although depressing in quite a few scenes, the overall view of America as a place of uncertainty, social and sexual mores, and real loss makes me feel more connected to an era mostly (and apparently falsely) known for its naivete.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age