Last Summer

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress  (Catherine Burns) in 1969.

"Last Summer" is pretty high on my list of The Most Disturbing Movies I Have Ever Seen.


Sandy, Dan, and Peter meet while their families vacation for a summer on Fire Island.  The three rescue a wounded seagull, and thus ends any redemptive acts.  Sandy is manipulative, Dan is arrogant, and Peter might have had a chance to be sensitive and kind had he never met the other two.  They get drunk, get high, play games that center around revealing terrible secrets, and face no accountability due to absent and clueless parents.  The three meet Rhoda, a nervous and shy girl who is also vacationing, and she tries to befriend the three.  This angers Sandy, as she is very possessive of her male friends, and Rhoda quickly becomes the butt of many an antic.  


This is a character driven movie.  The beach scenes are of course beautiful, but other than that scenery and sets are unremarkable.  The focus remains entirely on the deviant personalities of the stars and the flawed persona of Rhoda, and to that end it is completely successful.


The movie ends so painfully and abruptly that it is jaw dropping.  My jaw literally dropped.  I've been thinking about this movie for a few days now, wondering how to write about it.  I think if you asked "well, did you like the movie?" I would answer that yes, I did, but I don't know if could tell you why, and I certainly would advise you to proceed with awareness that you will not feel good when it is over.