Coming of Age Films—The Last Picture Show

As we continue our look at coming of age films, we move from last week’s 60s film about a college grad returning home, to a 70s film about some teens who will soon leave high school and head out on their various paths.

The Last Picture Show [1971], by Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdonavich is set in a dusty Texas town and is full of quirky characters—a woman who married a rich man [instead of the poorer but way more loving guy she could have married] but is unhappy, so has affairs with workers on the ranch where she lives, her daughter who is so full of herself that she can only see her own needs, the daughter’s boyfriend who is not from a wealthy family and can’t compete with the other guys who are after his girl. A football coach whose wife is so unhappy she has an affair with a high school athlete from the coach’s team. And the athlete involved in the affair who’s basically a good guy, but deserts the coach’s wife when he has a chance at the unattainable daughter from the wealthy family. And then there’s the boy who’s not quite there—the simple boy who thinks his job is to sweep the streets.

Given the nature of all these stories, where does the title come from? Well, in this small town there’s a movie theatre. But the town is so small and business is so bad that the older woman who runs it can’t afford to keep it open. So the pictures are going to be stopping and, indeed, we have scenes at the last picture that’s played in the theatre as people begin to go their separate ways.

Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr93HYVs_Kk

The picture shows are ending in this small Texas town, but so is an era. One of the characters heads off to Korea, and characters talk about how ‘things have changed’ and they talk about ‘old times.’ But mostly, characters just drift into relationships that will either make for a better life or not change anything.

There is so much to love about this film. The spoiled girl, Jacy, is the central spoke to the film and she’s just SO superficial and easy to dislike—but she’s knockdown gorgeous, she’s rich, and the boys are all after her. And—on occasion—we see her vulnerability. I think there’s a good lesson in that—even a character who’s meant to be disliked has saving graces—she’s not all one thing. There are nuances to Jacy and that makes her less a caricature and more a complex human being. You could do worse than think about Jacy when you create your characters.

Next week, we head to California for American Graffiti.

Copyright © Diane Lake

23May21

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