Treat Williams is the best thing in the picture, alluring but terrifying a fascinating portrait of a kind of Mephistopheles. It’s a shame most reviewers overlook his contributions to this film.
@@brando7266 We really have no way to know that for certain. The full screen shot of the front of his GTO. And the complete silence( except the sound of a hawk cry, At that moment could be a clue?plus the close up shot of the front of his car,does resemble a bird.why a close up shot of just the grill, and hood facing the trees? In that pivotal Silent scene, a symbolic scream? a clue? It leaves your question wide open to wonder. Upon returning Connie home, she doesnt seem terribley traumatized, like she was earlier in the house. Shaken, yes. But strong,(changed) firm, and brave in making it clear he never return. She quite possibly, gave her innocence, in exchange for thier home,and safety, as was threatened by Arnold earlier. For him to recieve his sick quest? Im certainly glad the ending wasn't certain like written in the book. Relieved to see Connie walking back to that beautiful( unpainted) old farmhouse. to her family. Suddenly loving her in a way they should have all along. ( sorry, but. Im blowing raspberries to sister June) " hey, mary kay place,love you!
I just finished watching Smooth Talk. I'm glad and I appreciate the amount of restraint this film had. I wondered at the end if the antagonist man was just a figment of her imagination. The end had some David Lynch vibes in that it was sort of like a bad dream.
I watched the movie yesterday for the second time with my wife. The first time I was so caught up in the thrill of the last half hour that I just felt the movie as a kind of lo-fi coming-of-age Horror movie. ATTENTION SPOILER: ....My wife then thought about the movie afterwards and was a bit shocked, because she concluded that at the end of the day the film has a very shallow and preachy undertone that basically says "listen to your parents and behave as a young woman (like her sister) or else you will eventually get raped (or killed according to the original short story). In the interviews on the criterion Blu Ray Laura Dern also states that a lot of parents who saw the movie were a bit paranoid afterwards and were giving statements like "Im just afraid to let my daughters out of the house now". I watched all of the Supplements on the Blu Ray because after my wife mentioned that view of hers on the movie I was hoping to find a statement of Joyce Chopra regarding that somehow old-fashioned view of the movie (or the short story itself). Throughout the movie you always get that vibe of "Girl your're playing with fire...behave and stay at home or those men will get you"...which they eventually did. My wife thought that this was a wrong approach what would otherwise be a good movie for feminism because it puts the blame towards the Girl and her behavior. At least it is a very pessimistic view of things that promotes Paranoia. Don't get me wrong. I love the movie and the criterion blu ray, but somehow I think there is a Point here. What do you think about that? Greetings from Germany :)
Thanks for the response! I can possibly see the viewpoint that your wife is referring to, that it is sort of a blanket argument on come what may if you don't listen to your family and bad things will happen to you if you leave the house. But I really, REALLY don't think it is that black and white. I think the film does an exceptional job of blurring the lines of dependence and independence, particularly because it is surrounding a girl in the prime of her teenage years, who doesn't necessarily gravitate to either edge of the spectrum. It's all a learning experience, and I think it seeps through Chopra's directorial motions.
Hey! So I completely understand where this take comes from and if I were looking at it on a surface level I could definitely see it. But as somebody who was a teenager less than a decade ago, I felt like this movie had a lot of truth to it. If you see it as a black and white morality tale then yeah, but at the same time I felt like the movie also made a point of treating Connie with empathy and communicating how it is when you’re in that weird in between childhood and adult age. She feels alienated by her folks and like she doesn’t know them and often people, especially teenagers, don’t make the best or always most rational choices when they feel alienated. Spoilers: When the movie was over I felt for Connie because her experience was a story I’d heard told to me by other women, and so much of the last act with Arnold reminded me of how groomers irl often target girls that they see as isolated and if anything reminded me of the idea of a “perfect victim” and if anything when Connie chooses not to disclose what happens with him it makes me feel like she’s at least aware of that idea and I feel like Chopra is probably aware of that too. You’re so vulnerable at that age because you’re still growing as a person starting to notice more people looking at you and a part of you wants that attention but it’s also frightening. The movie kind of reminds me of a quote from the movie hard candy where the main character says something like “just because a girl knows how to imitate a woman, does not mean she’s ready to do what a woman does.” But hey, maybe I’ll look back on this movie in 5 years and find myself more in agreement with everything you said here too. Apologies for the wall of text, I just like reading about other people’s experiences with this movie.
Weird question: How's the soundtrack? I've been hunting very 80s movies with 80s soundtracks. I watched Michael J Fox's Secret to My Success just for that soundtrack. Brings me lots of joy those synth sounds
With the exception of a couple key sequences that feature 80's synth-pop scoring, most of the film contains subtle piano/keys that provide a bed/subtext to the lead character's age of adolescence and yearning. I can't say it's very robust or essential listening (my opinion), but it's certainly complimentary to the film!
I believe this was a metaphor, for a bratty , teenage girl,after meeting that older man,she realized her mother was right,and after the creepy encounter with Mr.Friend ,she respects her mother more,and she is going to behave now,( agree the fact that Laura Dern,was so young in real life at the time,she was scared,and didn't totally understand the world of the way's either)
First off, great videos! Second, I purchased and watched 'Smooth Talk' yesterday because of this video. Thanks a ton for the suggestion. I am having a roundtable recap of the Criterion sale, at the end of the month. Would you like to join and discuss your love for Criterion and how the sale went for you? Think it could be fun for us all to really explain our love for the collection as a group.
Thanks man! This is certainly a great watch. I’ve been meaning to do more of these videos whenever I can get around to them! Would love to join in on a discussion!
