What I Watched -- The Last Picture Show

Several weeks ago now (as we all know I am way behind on posts), I watched the 1971 film The Last Picture Show.  It's another one of those movies I put in my queue, and now I can't remember what it was that inspired me to do that - the usual culprit was an interview on NPR or one of my podcasts that made it sound compelling.

When I got the movie, I didn't really know what I was in for.  The back of the DVD case described it as a study in teenage sexuality, but it's at least as much about life in a small town.  The setting is 1950s Anarene, Texas, a small town which is slowly wasting away: the movie house closes, the town's only true businessman dies, relationships end, friends move away.  It's a sad story, really.

I'm still not totally sure what to make of the film as a whole, though.  The teenagers-exploring-their-sexuality part is huge, and probably captures well the experiences of many people who grew up in that era.  It seems a bit strange and foreign now, in a time when kids see all that happened in the movie and more played out on TV every night in their living rooms.

The movie appears to have jump-started the careers of a few young actors, but the impressive list isn't limited to the high school students: starring Timothy Bottoms as Sonny Crawford, Jeff Bridges as Duane Johnson, and Cybill Shepherd as Jacy Farrow, as well as Clu Gulager, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Eileen Brennan, and Ellen Burstyn.

Bottom line: another one of those movies that's interesting to watch if you want to be transported back a few decades, and is a sad reminder of what happens when a town dies.