Petting

I had the pleasure (if not outright fun), together with several of my friends at Fire Island Ferries, of participating in the production of this film. It was a fairly compelling and accurate portrayal of the late-60's counter-culture. Fire Island was certainly THE place to be during those summers.

Post-production, we were given the opportunity to preview it at a local theater. It quickly received an "X" rating due the explicit "rape scene" which was abridged to earn the "R" it carried when released. I wonder what circulation it got before the editing and re-rating. Are there any copies of the original ?

There's no plot, no apparent theme, and little action. And an hour into the movie, I'm still not sure where it's going. So why is the 90-minutes as riveting as I think it is. For one, the filmmakers begin with that interesting seagull sequence that provides insight into Sandy's (Hershey) manipulative character and the boys' general submissiveness.

However, in between the opening sequence and the final one, nothing much happens. Some scenes are overlong (the pot smoking, the hair washing), while the elliptical dialog is often punctuated by long, non- meaningful, pauses.

Nonetheless, the three hedonistic kids are attractive, fairly realistic, and found horsing around at a scenic beach. But then, chubby Rhoda arrives, with her needy, yet judgmental, attitude, and it's curious where things will go from there now that an outsider is watching them.

There's an undercurrent here, especially with Sandy, that's seductive. It's to the filmmakers credit, including the cast, that they manage to mesmerize with such spare elements. Oddly, the technique reminds me of the popular Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman— especially his Virgin Spring (1959).

I take the upshot as having to do with judgmental people who stand apart from the crowd and not being able to tolerate them. But however you take it, the movie avoids cliché (as others note) and continues to fascinate at a generally unspoken level. Too bad the Perry's didn't make more movies.

You must see it uncut for the full effect. The conclusion at the beach is the whole point of the film, as Evan Hunter points out in his interview in "The Writer". I was agast the first time I saw it on commercial TV (late night).

This coming of age drama is about four friends living on an island who meet on the beach. As they discover sex and each other they are at times brave, kind and considerate. However at other times a darker side to their nature appears and they are cowardly, selfish and cruel. The characters' parents never appear in the movie and all verbal references to them are negative. We are left with the impression that these young adults are left to their own devices and they are growing up without morals. The film is shot in soft focus and the days are the perfect Summer idyll. The symbolism is a little unsubtle at times, but the performances are good. Catherine Burns received an oscar nomination.

If you write screenplays, don't miss Catherine Burns's "speech" about her mother in Last Summer - a more powerful, evocative use of single-character dialogue in a film probably doesn't exist. While I enjoyed the rest of the film, it couldn't match this moment, and it's easy to see why CB was nominated for an Oscar.