Peter Bogdanivich's adaptation of Larry McMurtry's beloved novel is a study of several different people in a somewhat ghost town of Texas.

It focuses mainly on the lives of insouciant teenagers on the brink of being adults. The work here is so microscopic of it's characters that sometimes you think the actors are carrying you further and further into the story with just their acting ability. Everyone in the film is magnificent.
ESPECIALLY Oscar Winner Cloris Leachman as a funereal housewife who is victim of her husbands absence as a lover because he's the town's praised basketball coach.
She has an affair with one of the main teens to the story, and this actor- Timothy Bottoms is a tour de force as a young man with sexual desires, misgiven guidance and an aimless attitude. Cybil Shephard is conspicuous as a girl who is using her boyfriend as a fall-back plan as she herself is falling into the same sexually destructive behavior as her mother played (with much excellence) by the excellent Ellen Burstyn. Cybil's boyfriend, is played by a remarkable Jeff Bridges who is oblivious to his girlfriend's intentions and a man who tries to cope by masking his true feelings with rocky masculinity. Through these stories, there are many other factors. Breaking up, jealousy, intrigue, alcoholism, humiliation and eventually acceptance of existence in a town resemblant of nowhere land.

I thought the movie was well made and risky for it's time, with such frank sexual material. I think it's a brave film, well written and well performed. I recommend it highly.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age