A sweet and sometimes poignant coming-of-age film set in Long Island in 1961. Craig Bolotin, who directed and adapted Alice McDermott's novel, is able to give a balanced portrait of the advantages and disadvantage of growing up in this era, such as the blessing vs. Detriment of naiveté, the kids' freedom to roam vs. Lack of things to do. And not least, how pre-contraception era upbringing and parenting was so fundamentally different, not really because of differing moral values, but out of pragmatism. Little Eliza Dushku looks a little too young for her part, but there is a purity and authenticity in her infatuation and friendship with Juliette Lewis, who is well cast as the semi-rebelling teenage girl next door.
Review of That Night
