Smooth Talk
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B-
We recently looked at Testament, the impressive
full-length film that gave Jane Alexander one of her greatest hours. Originally produced for PBS’ American
Playhouse series, it was theatrically released in 1983. Smooth Talk was produced a few years
later and again, we have a film about women the way we rarely see. In it, three female teen girlfriends go
about town having a good time and are in the process of still trying to find
themselves.
Connie (Laura Dern) is particularly giddy and wild, not
getting along very well with her mother (Mary Kay Place) and even clashing with
her sister. As events of late get
tenser, including her unhappiness with some male relationships, Connie
encounters a very odd man (Treat Williams) that is trying to seduce her. However, he is admittedly stalking her up
front and has even brought a friend with him.
Instead of seeing the warning signs, she is confused and does not know
what to do. Is it too late for her?
Well, things that occur in the film come from the story by
Joyce Carol Oates, a writer celebrated for her depiction of the lives of
women. Tom Cole did the screenplay
adaptation, but despite documentary filmmaker Joyce Chopra at the helm, the
film becomes a bit muddled. As for the
conflict when Williams’ character arrives, it is more of a semi-fantasy that
allows viewers (mostly female) resolve certain issues than be totally
realistic. It serves its purpose, but a
chapter out of The Women Who Love To Much & The Men That Hate Them
could have been worked in more or less for good measure. As it stands, it is not a bad film,
especially considering how regressive filmmaking was becoming at the time. Good performances all around too.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image shows the age
of the independent production; with some color deficiency here and there. Cinematographer James Glennon does deliver a
good-looking film under the circumstances, but the lighting is more of a male
point of view than director Chopra might have intended. Still, it is not bad. This was so indie, that the film was a
monophonic release at a time when that old Dolby A-type analog made that rare
by this time, so the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono shows its limits as much a part of
age as of the budget limits. There are
no extras, but it is still a rare film for its time with women even today not
having the voice in the cinema they should have. Smooth Talk is worth a look and some discussion of its
own.
- Nicholas Sheffo
