That Night

(Craig Bolotin, USA, 1992)

That Night is a whimsical tale of childhood and teenage experience set in the '60s.

The directorial debut of screenwriter Craig Bolotin is a reflective, bittersweet slice-of-life in the vein of TV's The Wonder Years – and it's prey to the same slick superficiality which marks that series.

Juliette Lewis plays Sheryl, a feisty adolescent who ricochets from the death of her beloved father to a passionate affair with the town rebel (C. Thomas Howell).

Their whirlwind romance is observed by concerned parents, nattering townsfolk and especially young Alice (Eliza Dushku), who worships Sheryl as a role model.

The film aims for moments of high poignancy, irony and insight, but its emotional range is impoverished and contrived.

MORE Bolotin: Light it Up

© Adrian Martin July 1993