Sam Groom

A group of old friends on an outing re-live various traumas and tragedies via flashback whilst trapped high above a ravine in a disabled cable-car.Read More »

First time writer-director James Bridges shows a pitch-perfect ear and an observant, affectionate eye in this beguiling time capsule of clashing cultures and values during the Age of Aquarius. The film is also a showcase for its luminous leading lady, the ne plus ultra of hippie goddesses, Barbara Hershey “Seagull”.

From the IMDB:
“An upper-class, childless couple in Southern California ‘hires’ a comely hippie to bear the husband’s baby (this being 1970, she conceives the old-fashioned way); soon, the straight-laced twosome are drawn into the young woman’s world. Interesting, insightful, provocative (for its time), the movie does follow a typical by-the-numbers pattern (with an ‘open minded’ boyfriend, jealousies and friction on all sides), but writer-director James Bridges is very tasteful and unhurried. He also gets some lovely shots of Barbara Hershey at her chestnut-haired, go-go-booted best (my favorites were her run across the street at the beginning, a stunning glimpse of her through a rain-soaked car window, and under the sheets in bed). The incredible finale refuses to compromise, and even though the medical aspects of the story are dated, the emotions are still on-target.”Read More »