Last Summer (1969): A Review (Review #1870)

 

LAST SUMMER

The joy and pain of burgeoning desire are revealed in Last Summer, one that showcases the darkness in the bright summer light.

Friends Dan (Bruce Davison) and Peter (Richard Thomas) come across a beautiful, nubile girl distraught over an injured seagull. The girl, Sandy (Barbara Hershey), manages to talk them into helping her save the seagull, and soon the three of them are inseparable while they spend summer on Fire Island.

There is little for them to do and virtually no adult supervision. Dan and Peter are very attracted to Sandy but are both virgins, so they fumble their way around her. Sandy is openly flirtatious with them, even allowing them to simultaneously fondle her at a theater. 

Into this mix comes Rhoda from Cleveland (Catherine Burns). She is younger, less sophisticated and shy, but eventually the three take her under their wing. Rhoda and Peter start bonding, even expressing romantic feelings towards each other while Dan and Sandy start drifting towards the other. However, an almost forgotten prank of using Sandy as bait for a computer dating service reemerges when she gets a response. Luring the older and unaware Anibal Gomez (Ernesto Gonzalez) onto the island, they get him drunk and leave him to be attacked by a group of thugs. Rhoda, who was pushed into being part of the prank despite her objections, is distraught by the whole thing. As the summer comes to a close, Rhoda is ganged up by the three of them, leading to a shocking act.

Last Summer is surprisingly ahead of its time in showing the lure of a beautiful young woman for corruption and the destructive force of absent parents. Long before both Challengers and Kids revealed the dark side of young lust, Last Summer was looking at these people teens, filled with desires and with no adults around. One at times forgets that their parents are absent save for a scene where we see them from afar. I think director Frank Perry and screenwriter Eleanor Perry (adapting the Evan Hunter novel) wanted us to see this foursome as removed from the adult world yet being adult in their behavior. 

The film has no score save for the end, the only music coming from the records played. There is one montage of Dan, Peter and Sandy washing each other's hair that does have music, though it comes from the record they are playing. I think this gives Last Summer a slightly more documentary-like feel to it. It is as if we are observers in this world.

The film does wonderful in the contrast between the bright summer sunshine and the dark actions of Dan, Peter and Sandy. Credit should also be extended to how Rhoda's end was startling without being graphic. There is no pounding music to punctuate her horror and shock. We sometimes get her point of view, seeing the menacing looks of Dan and Sandy. Even Peter snaps, "Do it!" when Sandy pushes Rhoda to take her bikini top off.

Last Summer is quite well acted. Catherine Burns received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as the tragic Rhoda. No doubt her monologue where she talks about her mother's drowning was what helped get her the nod (losing to Goldie Hawn's comic turn in Cactus Flower). In a long, unbroken sequence, we see Rhoda slowly talk about the circumstances leading to her mother's death. The mix of regret and anger and continued grief hits the viewer hard. Rhoda holds our attention throughout this long scene. 

Shortly afterwards in the same scene, Rhoda tells them, "I spit on my mother's grave," insisting that "she had no right to die like that and leave me alone". Burns, who made only two movies after Last Summer and did mostly television afterwards, is heartbreaking as the unglamorous Rhoda. Again, while her final scene is not graphic, it is still shocking. Perhaps it is more shocking because it is not as graphic as it could have been.

Last Summer has a young cast that would go on to have long careers. Long before he was condemned to be the eternal goody-goody John-Boy on The Waltons, Richard Thomas displayed a darker, more dangerous side as Peter. Ostensibly the kindest of the bunch, Thomas' Peter appears genuine in his growing love for Rhoda. His scenes with Burns are filled with surprising tenderness and innocence. However, when he is with Sandy and Dan, we see Peter as equally cruel. 

Peter is a fascinating character, one who becomes whatever the person or people he is around are. Tender with Rhoda, mean with Sandy and Dan, Peter is a tragic though ultimately despicable figure. Thomas made one both like and detest Peter. It is a credit to his acting skills, particularly at a young age. It is perhaps sad that he ultimately became so good at playing good and eager young men that he was not given much chance to show how good he could be.

Both Davison and Hershey too exceled in their roles. Davison's Dan was more open about his desires, willing to show that he was darker, crueler, easier to lead astray. Hershey did not make Sandy into a villainess or femme fatale. Instead, Hershey made Sandy into a thoughtless, careless person. She was capable of caring: her motives in saving the seagull were good. However, she could also be careless to cruel in her benevolence. She thinks nothing of hoodwinking the innocent Anibal into a date with Rhoda. She is quite bullying with the seagull when it does not do as she thinks it should. She pushes Dan and Peter into a great cruelty against Rhoda. Sandy, beautiful but also monstrous, is well acted by Hershey. Hershey also looks like a young Mary Tyler Moore, which helps sell the idea that Sandy is genuinely well-meaning, almost sweet, but who turns dark. 

If I see a flaw in Last Summer, it might be that the symbolism of the seagull is pretty much beaten to death. We get a parallel story between the trio and the seagull with the trio and Rhoda. That would make Rhoda the human seagull in a sense. It is not wildly overt, but it is there, and it does seem a bit heavy-handed. 

Last Summer is well-acted, directed and written. Moving well at a brisk 97 minutes, the film manages to still have quiet moments, mostly with Burns. The innocence of youth, crushed by their own actions, is well-filmed in Last Summer. 

DECISION: B-