It was the best of (movie)times... The Last Picture Show (pt 2)

The film is in black and white, lending to the feel of decay.  In black and white run down houses look even worse.  This town is dying, but not with a loud bang.  Heck, hardly with a whimper.  The town's bleakness and emptiness is present throughout the film in a sort of dusty oppression.  It's almost suffocating at times.  It's easy to see why Jacy toys with the boys in her life, she is simply bored and needing to entertain herself.  (Of course this doesn't make it right... It just explains it.)  This feeling builds until Duane and Sonny attend the last movie (Red River, by the way).  With the movie house closing, the town has lost it's cultural center thus it's last really bright spot.

What really makes this powerful is not only the town being front and center, but the characters.  Especially Sonny, Ruth, and Sam the Lion.  Sonny is an impressionable teen who is torn about what to do, but rarely stands up for himself.  He usually tries to do the right thing, but seems to fail more often than succeed.  He's just a kid and learning the ropes.  We've all been there... So he remains sympathetic despite his mistakes.

Ruth is a house wife, ignored by her husband.  Which makes it even more heartbreaking when Sonny does the same.  I am not condoning extramarital affairs, but Sonny not even explaining things to her is just plain wrong.  She has been dealing with abandonment from her husband for years, and now Sonny piles his on top.  So, when Sonny returns to her in the end and she starts throwing things, the audience completely understands.  We also understand when she comforts him afterward.

Sam the Lion is a force of nature.  He seems rough, but he's sentimental and human.  He genuinely cares for Billy and Sonny and does the best he can for them.  Sam is always giving Duane and Sonny a hard time about the sports teams that always seem to be loosing huge.  He gave Billy a job at the pool hall and watches out for him like his own son.  He seems to keep the businesses going just to make sure that his employees are taken care of.  He's the kind of character that really can bring a movie like this to life.

Basically, this movie is about people and real places.  It's about the passing of time.  It's about love and jealousy.  It's about growing up.  I really didn't know how to describe it, or how to express my feelings on it.  So, this is the best I could do....  I know that I am ignoring the metophores and symbolism.  I am not trying to be academic (well... at least not TOO academic), I am just trying to share my thoughts.

GGC

(Yeah... The Dude is in it!  And he looks like a baby.)