Last Summer (1969)

Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

about cruelty and innocence. adventure and revenge. past and future. a kind of Lord of the Flies. a group of teenagers. a vulnerable young woman. a seagull. and the flavor of sexuality. convincing acting, beautiful images and four inspired actors. film about lost of an age, seduction and worlds. about profound need by the other, it is special. for the exploration of force and for clear image about sensitivity. for the picture of an age with great accuracy. for the end who remains a question. for the parable about freedom and need of absolutely control. for the look of Catherine Burns and her touching confession. for the flavor of youth, desires and fall.

Three obnoxious teenagers on Fire Island during a particular summer form a bond that leads to an unbelievable ending.Nothing like a story about 3 teens, all of whom apparently come from wealthy families who pal around during the summer and meet Rhoda, a depressed teen, far from beautiful, who is basically in a world of her own.Catherine Burns, as Rhoda, tells in detail the tragic drowning of her mother, 5 summers ago and this telling brought her a best supporting actress Oscar bid.The unbelievable, tragic ending and the callous disregard of a human being is haunting. Otherwise, we're subjected to summer-time carefree leisure which to be perfectly honest is quite boring after a while.

WARNING: Before you watch "Last Summer", you really need to be warned that the movie is quite adult and has a very traumatic rape scene. Many will find this too troubling--and perhaps it could bring back your own traumatic past experiences as you watch. I am not saying not to watch it--just be aware.As far as the movie goes, it's well made but quite difficult to watch--not just because of the rape but because the characters are quite often jerks--very unlikable jerks. It is set at a beach community on Long Island. Three young people (Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison) meet and soon become friends. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is a lot of sexual tension in these new friendships and a ménage à trois of sorts is in the making. From a voyeuristic point of view, the film is rather stimulating....but any sexual excitement on the part of the viewer may quickly disappear as you begin to see that these people (when together) become jerks. It's as if alone they are normal but together their inhibitions and sense of morality diminishes. Later, when they meet a nerdy and less attractive fourth member of their little group (Catherine Burns), this becomes all the more apparent and the three original members exploit this very vulnerable new member.The acting is competent and the story is decent because it is unique and explores very dark aspects of supposedly 'typical' teens. And, fortunately, while the film has very explicit content, the director manages to hide most of what occurs through creative filming and it is not necessarily exploitational--just very, very dark. Frankly, I did not particularly enjoy the movie--it was a very tough viewing. But, it was well made and hence my overall score of 5.

The summary is not meant to be a put down, just an apt description of Frank Perry's provocative, compelling and generally unsentimental coming-of-age film. Last Summer has allegorical overtones; the isolated island setting without adult supervision suggests Lord of the Flies. All the expected elements of a loss-of-innocence tale are here: sex, booze, pot, and homosexuality, but the atmosphere, acting and the dialog avoid clichés, even if the director indulges in a few. The four leads embody their roles superbly, and Thomas and Burns are particularly affecting. Burns received an Oscar nod for supporting actress. The feelings of power and powerlessness, isolation, and the herd mentality are persuasively rendered. Despite being released on VHS some years ago, this film has pretty much remained obscure. Worth seeing, and it holds up as well as 1969's Best Picture winner, Midnight Cowboy.