Review of The Last Picture Show (1971) by Michael C — 20 Dec 2010

Though I enjoyed the film, I feel like its status on the current AFI list as one of the 100 greatest American films ever is a tad overreaching. Still, there is plenty to applaud here: Ellen Burstyn is one of my favorite actresses, and her performance is this is just as stunning as all of her other 70's efforts, and the awkwardness of adolescence is pretty accurate in many ways.

I also like these sort of films set in the 50's that attempt to pull a veil away from this idealistic time, only to reveal much of the same things that people from that era claim did not exist were actively happening, they just weren't publicized as broadly.

There is even elements of ageism in the film, as Timothy Bottom's and Cloris Leachman's character character carry on a relationship with a rather wide age gap. Sure, this same taboo was nailed in a much better manner the same year in "Harold and Maude", but it is still intriguing in this setting.

Overall, the film holds up decently almost 40 years later, and its commentary on youth is still pretty insightful.