To date- easily the second best film I’ve seen from To Kill a Mockingbird director Robert Mulligan
An engaging narrative- nostalgic- notable for the sweeping melodic Oscar-winning musical score by Michel Legrand (Jacques Demy work—Umbrellas, Godard, Thomas Crown Affair– 1968)
Coming of age—the mix of nostalgia and raw dialogue certainly feels like it has an influence on everything from Porky’s, to Stand by Me to A Christmas Story (shares the voice-over of the adult protagonist with the latter two)
You don’t come away thinking any of these actors are necessarily going to be a star- and that’s at least a little bit telling— which certainly isn’t true with like Stand by Me or something
The island setting plays into the film’s surrealistic-like qualities. Jennifer O’Neill (Dorothy)’s house in the film feels like it’s floating out there on its own- the house on the hill- like it existed in his memory/dream as much as reality
The climax of the film is great- we have the heightened scene after the western union tragic note. It’s well directed by Mulligan. It stands apart from so much of the crude and funny and dialogue-laden remainder of the movie. This is serious, sad, silent
Recommend- not near the top 10 of 1971—closer to the fringe
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