That Night

I first saw That Night in sixth or seventh grade, as I recall. Two terrible, terrible years in my life. This movie though, it really stuck out to me. Maybe it was solely because of the time period in which it was set in. I imagine had it taken place in contemporary times, I wouldn't have been quite as interested. Nonetheless, I thought this was a pretty good movie. Not the strongest writing. But it's good in some areas, and makes up for the rest with how it handles such confusion and emotions that we can all relate to.

The protagonist is Alice, a 10-year old girl who narrates the story of the summer of 1961. It was one of the most influential summers of her life. Alice is awestruck by her across the street neighbor Sheryl, a 17-year old girl who could best be defined as a free spirit. Alice adores everything about Sheryl, she's totally mesmerized by her. Enter Rick, a local troubled youth who Alice would turn to in hard times. Rick and Sheryl would begin a romance, and Alice would become friends with both of them. However, the neighborhood parents disapprove of Rick, and problems arise when Sheryl refuses to stop seeing him. Alice, perhaps out of her admiration of the two of them, actively pursues keeping the couple in tact. No matter what it takes.

That Night is a pretty solid coming-of-age film. Alice is torn between two worlds. That of the tumultuous relationship between her own friends (typical discussions about sex, body issues, etc) and that of the world of Sheryl and Rick. Alice, who can't understand her friends (or how young boys and girls treat each other on the verge of their sexual awakenings), romanticizes Sheryl and Rick's situation. However, she may not understand that world as well as she thinks either.

Alice is a very relateable character. But not just for women. I think most of us can understand how it was when we were younger, and we thought that we had simple solutions to complicated problems. At whatever point that it was when we decided that we were "grown-ups" trapped in children's bodies. And let's not forget of course, how we always wanted to preserve the fairy tale. I think this film captures all of these points very well.

However, this film does have it's problems. The biggest is that there are certain sub-plots which aren't covered enough. Another is that the dialog is lacking in certain areas as well. This is capped off with the frustration that this movie is only about 90 minutes long. Had they granted us an additional 30 minutes at least (to round out two full hours), we could have had better dialog between Alice and her father, and had a better understanding of the frustration she felt with him. We could have had more time spent on Alice and her school-age friends, and the confusion and disenchantment she felt with them. And perhaps we also could have been given more time with Sheryl and her mother, and had a stronger understanding for her mother's disliking of Rick. The plot can feel rather contrived at times, because the whole film feels rushed. To my understanding, the book was more detailed. So I don't understand why they would make a film that was a little too short to really give us stronger writing.

So I give this movie about a 7. Maybe that's being generous. However, the movie really shines in the areas in which it's good. It's worth a viewing if you're up for a coming-of-age or romantic drama set in the golden age of contemporary American society.

In her screen debut, a pre-vamp Dushku plays Alice, an 11ish girl who makes friends with an older girl on the other side of both puberty and the street of her Long Island neighborhood. "That Night" is a sweet little slice-of-life flick which tells of the lessons about growing up which Alice learns through her friendship with neighbor Sheryl (Lewis) and her boyfriend (Howell). A journeyman flick but a slow starter worth the wait, "That Night" is a charmer with a 50's flavor, some solid performances, an okay screenplay, and will be most enjoyed by teens and more mature adults.

Touching, sensitive film about childhood, and a youngster's need to be "saved" from her own age of innocence. Juliette Lewis is fantastic as vampy young woman in 1960s suburbia whose affair with a greasy-haired rebel becomes the focal point for a little girl who lives across the street. The film's dreamy/quirky tone is reminiscent of "Men Don't Leave", and its depiction of a big-hearted kid trying to connect with a world much larger than she is both nostalgic and sympathetic. Filled with small but wonderful little touches, thoughtful nuances and a quiet, sweet ending. Well worth-seeing. This may be the best performance yet from Juliette Lewis--she's flawless. **1/2 from ****

Suffering from insomnia and looking for something to watch in the dead hours of the night, I stopped when the satellite guide told me 'That Night' would be on. I wanted to see it because I like Juliette Lewis but had never got around to renting this movie. I got the strongest sense of deja vu when young 'Alice' showed up on screen for the first time and that clinched it, so I settled in to watch. Set in 1961, this is a better than average execution of an entirely cliched plot. Well-off, popular good girl (Sheryl) meets and falls in love with a sensitive bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks (Rick), everyone else disapproves, she gets pregnant, etc. The couple's only ally is Alice, a young girl who lives across the street from Sheryl. She is a lonely soul- tormented by her "friends", ignored by her father, talked down to by her mother, and obssessed with the idea of a love that will transcend her own, rather unhappy existence. She escapes through Sheryl, whom she idealizes- and who she ultimately is able to help in very important ways. This movie wouldn't really work if not for a nice period feel, very likable, sympathetic main characters and strong performances from the actors playing them. Juliette is as compelling as ever and young Eliza Dushku (who was giving me deja vu, I realized when I saw her name in the credits, because I had seen 'Bring It On' only two days before!) is terrific in her very first role as story-teller Alice. 'That Night' is by no means a great movie, but it is a good one, and well worth seeing.

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.