Monday, 22 August 2022

SMOOTH TALK


 An 18 year old Laura Dern is astonishingly good as a precocious over-sexed teenager who falls victim to a much older, predatory male, (a terrific Treat Williams), in Joyce Chopra's indie classic "Smooth Talk" though I have a feeling the film's 'classic' status may be based primarily on Dern's performance since the film itself meanders along rather slowly for a good deal of its running time.

This is a film that requires you pay close attention to its various nuances and it's certainly one of the best films ever on what it's like to be a teenage girl, (there's great work, too, from the undervalued Elizabeth Berridge as Dern's sister)

Midway through it moves into chiller territory as Williams' handsome stranger arrives at Dern's screendoor when her family are out with intentions that sound a little more than creepy and even if Laura seems like a girl who can take care of herself, Treat's intrusion into her life means she has to grow up fast. Based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates, this still remains one of the best Independent American movies of the eighties.

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