‘Never you mind, honey. Never you mind...’
The reason that coming-of-age movies retain their power is that leaving childhood behind is a universal emotion. Everyone understands the nostalgic tug of the past and the end of high school feels so seismic at the time that most people become frozen in time. Your favourite albums/books/films from your 18th birthday will stick with you for the rest of your life. The Last Picture Show explores this unique time in a person’s life through the lens of a dying town. A town with a pool hall and the eponymous cinema but very little else…
With an ensemble cast featuring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ellen Burstyn and Timothy Bottoms, The Last Picture Show is a gritty and realistic portrayal of life on the cusp of adulthood. The characters presented here are typical of any small town across America and the way these characters interact feels lived in and authentic. Writer-director Peter Bogdanovich does a terrific job of bringing this town to life and making its inhabitants feel like living and breathing people rather than archetypes. At times, this realism, combined with the stark black and white lighting, gives The Last Picture Show a documentary feel – an acknowledgement which is a testament to what Bogdanovich achieved here. It is also worth noting the mostly diegetic use of sound is incredible throughout and many of the songs from this film would be recycled in other movies throughout the years such is its influence. Perhaps the crowning jewel though is Bogdanovich’s ability to make something that feels like it was created in the 1950s but with that 1970s New Hollywood sensibility. No easy feat.
The film was nominated for Best Picture, eventually losing out to The French Connection, and like that film, The Last Picture Show was one of the features to usher in a new age in Hollywood. An age to rival French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism. For that reason, this is an important film as well as an enjoyable one. And it features a very fresh-faced Randy Quaid being his usual odd self. Worth the entry fee alone.