{"id":5552,"date":"2008-05-14T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2008-05-14T22:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5552"},"modified":"2024-04-13T23:08:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T06:08:58","slug":"last-summer-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5552","title":{"rendered":"Last Summer (1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;When you&#8217;re with me, you can be so gentle&#8230; But when you&#8217;re with them, you&#8217;re completely different!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster-196x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster-196x300.png 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster-668x1024.png 668w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster-176x270.png 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Last-Summer-Poster.png 721w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA sexy, domineering teen (Barbara Hershey) befriends two boys (Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison) while vacationing on Fire Island, and soon the three are inseparable. But when a plump outsider named Rhoda (Catherine Burns) tries to become part of their social circle, an unexpected tragedy occurs.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Barbara Hershey Films<\/li>\n<li>Coming-of-Age<\/li>\n<li>Frank Perry Films<\/li>\n<li>Friendship<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Teenagers<\/li>\n<li>Vacation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBefore their separation in 1970, husband-and-wife team Frank and Eleanor Perry collaborated on a handful of compelling, hard-hitting films, including <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3660\"><em>David and Lisa<\/em> (1962)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057242\/\">1963&#8217;s <em>Ladybug, Ladybug<\/em><\/a> (not a Peary title, but worth seeking out), <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=95712\"><em>The Swimmer<\/em> (1968)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3927\"><em>Diary of a Mad Housewife<\/em> (1970)<\/a>. This film &#8212; another literary adaptation, from a novel by Evan Hunter (author of <em>Blackboard Jungle<\/em>) &#8212; ties neatly into their recurring concern with misfits and group dynamics, providing an unabashed critique of a world where sensitive individuals must learn to survive and thrive while confronting the darker, harsher forces of life. <\/p>\n<p><em>Last Summer<\/em> features fine, natural performances by all four of the teenage leads: Hershey (impossibly young) is perfectly cast as a sexy, intelligent, potentially disturbed young woman who is 100% confident in the sway she holds over her horny adolescent male friends; Thomas and Davison &#8212; one sensitive, the other brash and cocky &#8212; are well balanced against each other, and are entirely believable as buddies; and Burns &#8212; whose performance garnered her an Academy Award for best supporting actress, yet whose film career never really took off after this &#8212; is both brave and vulnerable in a complex role. <\/p>\n<p>At first, <em>Last Summer<\/em> appears primarily concerned with the bantering dynamics between Hershey, Thomas, and Davison; one fully expects the souring of their sex-tinged love triangle (who will &#8220;win&#8221; Hershey&#8217;s affections?) to dominate the script, but it doesn&#8217;t &#8212; instead, a new character (Burns) conveniently emerges on the scene, providing a catalyst for change. Eleanor&#8217;s screenplay does an excellent job depicting both the normal anxieties of adolescence &#8212; a preoccupation with sexuality; a burning desire to fit in; a need to fill long summer hours with fun and excitement, including experimentation with drugs &#8212; and signs that this particular coming-of-age tale possesses more than a hint of pathology. <\/p>\n<p>An opening subplot about a wounded seagull which Hershey and her friends nurse back to health parallels the second half of the film, in which Burns is the &#8220;fragile&#8221; outsider whose well-being rests on the graces of her fickle new friends. Other hints of dysfunctional power dynamics are given along the way as well, including the trio&#8217;s measured reaction to Burns&#8217; story about her mother&#8217;s accidental death by drowning, and the way in which they treat a kind Puerto Rican (nicely played by Ernesto Gonzalez) who Hershey has located through a computer dating service. The film&#8217;s infamously shocking ending (don&#8217;t read too many comments on IMDb, or you&#8217;ll immediately encounter spoilers) takes a while to absorb, and &#8212; particularly in its R-rated edited version (the film originally received an X rating) &#8212; isn&#8217;t entirely clear. Nonetheless, it somehow serves as a fitting capstone to this undeniably disturbing and memorable tale, which is difficult to watch but remains a powerful viewing experience. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Barbara Hershey as Sandy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-hershey1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-hershey1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5554\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Catherine Burns as Rhoda<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-burns.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-burns.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5555\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Richard Thomas as Peter<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-thomas.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-thomas.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5556\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bruce Davison as Dan<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-davison.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-davison.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5557\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ernesto Gonzalez in a bit part as Anibal, Rhoda&#8217;s blind date<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-gonzalez.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-gonzalez.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5561\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Excellent use of Fire Island locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-fire-island.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-fire-island.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5558\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A remarkably effective &#8212; albeit deeply disturbing &#8212; tale of teenage friendship, sexuality, and power plays<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-friendship.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/last-summer-friendship.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5560\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Burns&#8217; Oscar-nominated performance (and the other performances as well). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0064573\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/last-summer-1969\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1969\/06\/11\/archives\/screen-last-summercinema-i-film-brings-trio-of-newcomers.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/summer\/review\/103884\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/?page=review&#038;id=466\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/last-summer-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re with me, you can be so gentle&#8230; But when you&#8217;re with them, you&#8217;re completely different!&#8221; Synopsis: A sexy, domineering teen (Barbara Hershey) befriends two boys (Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison) while vacationing on Fire Island, and soon the three are inseparable. But when a plump outsider named Rhoda (Catherine Burns) tries to become part of their social circle, an unexpected tragedy occurs. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Barbara Hershey Films Coming-of-Age Frank Perry Films Friendship Love Triangle Teenagers&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5552\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5552"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95752,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5552\/revisions\/95752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}