Out of all of the themes presented throughout this film, the most prominent was definitely that the insatiable horniness of high school boys has existed - and probably will exist - for generations. Before the social relevance of The Breakfast Club, before the sexual unabashedness of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and even before the pop culture phenomenon of Grease came Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show. This slice-of-life, high school-centric film is as revolutionary in its discussion of taboo topics as it is forgettable to the memories of the general public. It's a shame that this movie does not have as much of a following as those previously mentioned because, despite the controversy surrounding this movie, it provides for an incredibly emotional and oftentimes depressing narrative.
The Last Picture Show follows the intertwining lives of a few different high school seniors in a small, West Texas town in 1951 as they get ready to enter the "real world." Sonny, played by Timothy Bottoms, Duane, played by Jeff Bridges, and Jacy, played by Cybill Shepherd, all lead various lives as they experience the many wonders, horrors, and oddities of different things like sex, marriage, and death. These three provided the absolute best and most sensitive performances throughout this film and the elements of pre-adult life that they all went through was incredible to watch. The character of Sonny is our main protagonist and, starting the film with a heavyhanded breakup, looks to find solace in the bed of any kind of woman. This is where the main theme of the film lies: in following the sexual escapades of our main characters figuring out what they actually desire from life. Sonny sleeps with a few different girls and even begins an affair with his football coach's wife without him ever finding out. The way that he effortlessly travels from bed to bed throughout this movie without seeming to show any remorse shows a lot about his character, even though the audience ends up feeling for him in the third act of the film when everything comes crashing down. This is the same case for the character of Jacy, as her main goal is to prove her mother wrong in her assumptions of her. She attempts this by sleeping around and eventually planning a sham marriage with Sonny all just to mess with her parents. The different motivations and actions taken by characters in this film all mesh very well together to create the perfect forerunner of 80's coming of age films.
The stories of these main characters are all aided by supporting performances too, especially from Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), Jacy's mom Lois (Ellen Burstyn), and Lester Marlow (Randy Quaid in his first, small role). These characters play such large parts in the story of this town, which actually becomes a character in itself. The way that Sam's death and Sonny and Duane leaving for Mexico affected the town is immeasurable to the point that the town seems to be characterized by feelings. As unfortunate as it was, Sam's death made for an excellent framing narrative throughout this movie. I, for the life of me, couldn't figure out why this film was titled the way it was until Sam left the local theater and pool hall to Sonny to take care of. While these characters were shaped by media and the culture of this town, it only makes sense that this film was aptly named. The story of this town seems to have more descending than ascending actions, but that is what makes it so interesting. In the conclusion of the film, this small town was left in desolation as all of its residents had moved away, started college, or gone through some incredible tragedy. The economic and social destruction of this setting gave way for quite the melancholy ending, creating this unshakable feeling of uncertainty for the future in the audience. While this may seem like too deep of an analyzation, it is quite honestly how it made me feel and for that, I applaud this film for doing its job.
Some of this movie's technical aspects that I loved were its direction and cinematography. Bogdanovich's directing was amazing and gave equal time for the stories and struggles of each individual character. I loved the way that he blended these lives together, despite the dramatic consequences of their actions becoming messy. Even though this movie is not nearly as referenced due to its frowned upon content of the time, Bogdanovich helps to make this film a hidden treasure. Robert Surtees' cinematography was fantastic as well, as he brought along his experience from films like Ben-Hur to make the small town of Anarene seem like a massive and empty land of lost opportunity. The only design choice that I did not understand in this movie is why it was shot in black and white with such poor video and audio quality. Perhaps it was a creative choice due to the film's setting, but I feel that it could have much benefitted from color and a higher quality camera.
The Last Picture Show is an amazing coming of age movie that was unafraid to discuss a lot of various topics of the time. Whether it was the strangely dated style or the more raw nature of the substance, this film has honestly impacted my knowledge of this content more than many others. Accompanied by Bogdanovich's incredible directing and an extremely talented cast, this movie is unforgettable, at least to me.
My Rating: ★★★½
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