Smooth Talk
Men are scary.I finished watching this movie about an hour and a half ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. During that time, I read the short story it is based on, titled "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. After reading it, I must say that Joyce Copra adapted it splendidly. The movie captures adolescent angst very well through its stellar dialogue and Laura Dern's great performance, which adds layers to her teenage protagonist. The film takes its time before becoming an unnerving piece of fiction, and that time is spent building the relationships between the characters, showing their conflicts that resolve by the end. The first hour feels like a more mature coming-of-age story, but the last thirty minutes transform it into one of the most uncomfortable and genuinely terrifying things ever, leading to a thoughtful, satisfying conclusion that leaves the darkest part up for interpretation—especially when considering that the character of Arnold Friend, played to fruition by Treat Williams, is inspired by serial killer Charles Schmid. This is a vampire movie in disguise, with its Pied Piper inspiration being clear from the LIFE Magazine article that inspired the short, titled "The Pied Piper of Tucson." With all of this combined, mingling with the carefree first hour, it creates a thought-provoking movie about innocence lost.