One feature of the film that really struck me is how most of the characters became disillusioned at some point pretty soon after beginning their adult lives and how they dealt with their discontent. Lois was already cheating on her husband in her early 20s, looking for the adventure she longed for that she already knew she wasn't going to get from her marriage. Genevieve and her husband ran around with Lois and her husband when they were young — they were all equals, but then by dumb luck Lois' husband struck it rich and Genevieve's husband didn't. They just became mired in debt and Genevieve had only a life of waitressing to look forward to. Ruth's dream of marrying the manly coach (partly because her mom hated him) turned rapidly into a nightmare. Sam's wife went crazy and the love of his life belonged to someone else. The coach was clearly a homosexual and stuck in a life that was completely wrong for him. The next generation, in the year during which the film takes place, rapidly began to see the disparities in how life after high school was vs. how they thought it would be: Jacy discovered the disappointments of love and sex, after having "saved" herself for so long — and, without the dramatic backdrop of high school, she discovered that she had to invent her own drama; Duane figured out that loving someone doesn't automatically make them love you back, the persistence of a broken heart, the limitations that social class would put on his life; Sonny figured out the lessons of responsibility and the obligations and rewards of love and how to cope with loss.
For a town where supposedly nothing ever happens, there sure is a lot going on. Did the depth and pacing of character development feel more or less natural to you, or did it seem contrived in ways?
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I'd say it was mostly natural, though it seemed pretty episodic. The film didn't always do a good job of conveying just how much time had been passing as the story progressed, and sometimes it would be a little jarring until you caught up.
I felt that the character development was never anything less than compelling and true to life. But I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was great acting and direction that caused it to work for me.
George, it's interesting that you say the character development seemed episodic. Ben made a similar comment about the plot.
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