Two teens (Bruce Davison & Richard Thomas) come across the enigmatic Barbara Hershey caring for a sick seagull on a beach. She seems earthy, loving and caring. She's also unusually cruel. The boys are soon infatuated. Things get complicated when a fourth teen (another girl)joins the mix. As Rhoda, Catherine Burns is awkward, precocious and very sensitive (something Hershey is repulsed by). Frank Perry directed this totally engaging coming-of-age film and it's one of the best of his spotty career. He coaxes thoroughly natural performances from the three leads and a miraculous one out of Burns. Ironically, Burns, who received the film's only Oscar nomination, did NOT go on to have a career nearly as substanitive as Hershey, Davison and Thomas. The perceptive screenplay is by Eleanor Perry. Filmed on Fire Island, but the film could have taken place anywhere.
Review of Last Summer
