After making his directorial debut with 1968’s Targets, the late Peter Bogdanovich followed it up with The Last Picture Show – his breakthrough work that would receive eight Academy Award nominations. His 1971 feature opens on a sight that will break every cinephile’s heart – a cinema on its last legs. This is the first thing viewers see within a dying Texas town, whose bleak prospects are reflected in the despirited feeling shared by the characters.
Central to the story are high-school seniors and best friends, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges). While Duane is loving life as he dates pretty rich girl, Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), Sonny coasts through life while having a crush on his friend’s girlfriend. With their high school days coming to a close, the friends become aware that life has not turned out the way they hoped.
In the lead role, Bottoms tremendously captures Sonny’s boredom as he grows aware of the limited options offered by staying in the crumbling town. A bright spark appears when he begins an affair with Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman), the unhappily married wife of Sonny’s coach, although their connection strains courtesy of the young man’s thoughtlessness. Meanwhile, Duane is left rattled when his plans built around Jacy fall apart, leading him down a self-destructive path by turning to violent forms of expression.
Bogdanovich puts the folly of youth in full display, as the younger generation make foolish decisions with little awareness of how damaging their actions can be.
The standout cast member is Shepherd as Jacy, magnificently capturing the character’s struggle at discovering what she truly wants from life. As her desire for adoration sees Jacy seeking acceptance from different sources, her initial disagreement over her mother’s advice about marrying rich changes to see the confused character unintentionally following in her mother’s footsteps.
Bogdanovich puts the folly of youth in full display, as the younger generation make foolish decisions with little awareness of how damaging their actions can be. Also depicted are the older residents feeling the weight of time passing by, missing the carefree days of their youth as they struggle with their current circumstances. This is best captured in a heartfelt recollection from Sam the Lion, as effectively brought alive through Ben Johnson’s rightfully Oscar winning performance.
Through the black-and-white imagery, viewers bear witness to the terrible ways that people treat each other, with their decaying sense of human decency reflecting how the town is falling apart. This all builds towards a phenomenal scene near the end, as Ruth’s rage at her treatment bursts forth in a stunning way which shows the power of Leachman’s performance. It makes for an appropriate ending on this saddening portrait of lonely people lacking direction.
The Last Picture Show is out now on Criterion Collection UK Blu-Ray
James’s Archive – The Last Picture Show (1971)
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