Time Will Tell Twenty seven years ago, this movie had a real life authenticity to my generation.
Like many movies that lack real greatness, this one worked only in the period in which it was made. The early 1970s produced "real movies" like this one, Bob Rafelson's "The King of Marvin Gardens", "Five Easy Pieces", "Carnal Knowledge". They were heavy for their time, but if watched recently one wonders "whatever were we & they thinking?" They just don't hold up that well. Still, the scene with Sybill Shepard emerging naked from the swimming pool still gets my heart pumping. Ben Johnson's portrayal of Sam the Lion is among his best work.
Are audiences are more jaded and find it harder to access the simpler life of west Texas? I just wish the movie had been a little less stylized and a bit longer on story.