Last Summer

One of those winsome, nostalgic beach movies (this one has a wounded seagull). Four gawky teenagers spend the summer on Long Island, learning the usual, bittersweet rites-of-passage lessons about life, love and loyalty. Director Perry was renowned for the way he probed human relationships. He's helped here by an insightful script adapted by his wife Eleanor Perry from a novel by Evan Hunter. The acting is also a cut above the average: Cathy Burns, who's since disappeared without trace, was Oscar-nominated for her depiction of a troubled adolescent.