The Last Picture Show

I am astonished at how a movie can be two hours long and have so little to it. This movie can be summed up with one short sentence: “the lives of teenagers in a dying rural town in the 50’s”. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. There are no profound themes, no metaphors, no story arc, no catharsis, and certainly no climax. It’s just a year in the life. Some of the people stay in the town and some move on. Relationships blossom and wither. If my description of it, or lack of deeper exploration of it, seems unfulfilling, well, imagine how I felt watching it. As I write this, it’s normally just past my bedtime, but I almost feel compelled to watch something else just so I don’t have that inert sleeping pill be the last thing I saw before bed. Maybe an old Coronet educational short. Or the welcome channel at a hotel. They’re just as exciting.