Bedrohliches Geflüster (1985)

Bedrohliches Geflüster: Directed by Joyce Chopra. With Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh. A free-spirited 15-year-old girl flirts with a dangerous stranger in the Northern California suburbs and must prepare herself for the frightening and traumatic consequences.

“Laura Dern is perfect as lanky lass in a small town sparring with her parents, estranged from her older sister, desperate to be liked and to be with boys. Opening moments of this adaptation of Joyce Carol Oatesu0026#39; story u0026quot;Where Are You Going, Where Have You Beenu0026quot;–with Dern and friends doing the mall–are realistic but nothing too original; second portion of the film, with Laura meeting smooth talking Treat Williams (who comes dressed like the James Dean poster on Dernu0026#39;s wall) is elongated and dry (you can almost feel the directoru0026#39;s confidence slipping away). Itu0026#39;s an encounter I didnu0026#39;t particularly care for, nor did I buy the rosy ending either. However, there are fine moments in u0026quot;Smooth Talku0026quot;, the most devastating of which lies in a conversation between Dern and indifferent sis Elizabeth Berridge (in a terrific performance): Dern recalls a vivid, lovely childhood memory between the two, but after listening and thinking it over, Berridge tells her, u0026quot;I donu0026#39;t remember…u0026quot; **1/2 from ****”