Smooth Talk
Joyce Chopra · 1985
Smooth Talk (1985), directed by Joyce Chopra and adapted by Tom Cole from Joyce Carol Oates’s short story, follows fifteen-year-old Connie Wyatt over a single summer week in northern California. Laura Dern stars as Connie, whose restless self-discovery collides with the predatory attention of Arnold Friend (Treat Williams). Shot by James Glennon and scored by Russ Kunkel, the film avoids melodrama in favour of psychological precision, building tension through proximity, tone, and withheld reaction. It won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 1986 and was restored by Criterion in 2020.