Review of The Last Picture Show (1971) by Kenneth L — 06 Nov 2010

This movie is less about a story than about a time and place, but it is masterful at evoking that time and place. It follows a few intersecting stories about the lives of a handful of teenagers in a nowhere Texas town in 1951-52.

After you watch this movie, you really feel like you've been to the town, met the kids, heard some gossip, and learned how life goes there. The closest thing to a main character is played by Timothy Bottoms, in a very low-key but good performance.

This was also the debut movie for Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd, both of whom give very fine performances. Cloris Leachman deservedly picked up a supporting actress Oscar as a frail and troubled housewife, and Ben Johnson also got a supporting actor Oscar for his part as a benign old man who serves as the town's economic and moral center.

He has a particularly great, simple scene where he sits by a fishing pond and recalls a long-past romance of his youth. The movie's dominant tone is one of wistful but clear-eyed regret; it looks back on its time and place with genuine sympathy but not excessive nostalgia.

Some pretty dark, sad things happen in the movie, but they are all made to seem like they're just part of life. The final scenes are particularly great. The movie really captures the sense of things winding down, of the town going out of business and the people leaving.

It's sad but not overwhelmingly so. It's not the most exciting narrative, but the movie is as good as any at capturing a particular moment in history.