Rouge

written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich (1971)

Just how much desperation does it take to break free from morality and head towards self-destruction? Renowned film historian and part-time director Peter Bogdanovich's first major feature takes us back in 1953, to the quiet yet dishevelled, depressed small Texas town of Anarene, situated in the middle of a desert, where the most entertainment you can get is in a half-broken movie theatre that shows old John Wayne westerns on Saturdays. Bogdanovich uses black-and-white cinematography, sloppy editing, mono sound mix and 1940s' country soundtrack to successfully capture the spirit of early 50s. His characters are troubled, dark and gloomy... yet they curve their own necessary niche in the community. Bored to death in a town where there's nothing else to do but drink and play pool and watch high-school football, the characters dive into the desperation of adultery and promiscuity... just for kicks.

There are Sonny and Duane, late teens and best friends. Sonny (played by a wonderful Tim Bottoms), whose estranged and drunk father greets him with "How've you been? Good? See ya." has a perpetual crush on Duane's girlfriend JC. But he can't risk his friendship and go for her. So he dives into a sexual relationship with his football coach's old wife. He has a mentor in Sam (Ben Johnson in an Oscar-winning role), an old down-and-out bar owner and often the sole voice of reason among the dishevelled townsfolk, who lives alone with his autistic son Billy. Duane on the other hand (played by Jeff Bridges in his debut role), initially happy being with the town's most beautiful girl JC, slowly understands that she's only using him as there's no one else. Not yet.

There's JC (played by Cybill Shepherd), obsessed with make-up, watches her mother sleeping around but still staying married to her wealthy father. This puts her in a perspective and she decides to dump Duane and go for the town's richest kid. Duane finds it hard to get over her and moves to Mexico. JC gets rejected and seduces Sonny, who finds it easier to go for her now that Duane's gone. But Duane comes back and a fight ensues. And nothing stays the same for the town after that.

The dialogues are extremely carefully written and successfully speak of the pessimism and desperation of the townspeople. They are a small town, almost like a brotherhood (as one character points out - "No one sneezes in this twon without someone offering him a handkerchief"), yet they are selfish in their own ways in order to survive. There's nothing like a background music in this film, to enhance the void. You hear music only if someone turns on the car radio or puts on a record... and the music successfully relates to the person who puts it on. Every time Sonny turns on his truck radio you hear Hank Williams mourning a lost love... while JC always puts on mainstream light pop records. It is a wonderful feat by the director to make the viewer completely immersed into his little depressed world where nothing happens, yet you know something bad is going to.

Then there's Billy. Everyday he takes the broom and stand on the road to clean the dust off the street, in a town where there's a sandstorm in every two hours. Doesn't he represent the town spirit? Anarene's going to be swept away, someday soon, while its existing townsfolk still trying to survive and find happiness, in every desperate way they can.