JEREMY (1973) - Andy's Blu-Ray Review

[AndyDursin]

A little, independent American teenage drama made at a time when sensitive and realistic depictions of growing up were rare at the movies, JEREMY (90 mins., 1973, PG) caused a small sensation when it played at the Cannes Film Festival. There, writer-director Arthur Barron's film earned a warm reception, its cast meeting the likes of Francois Truffaut and the picture generating worldwide critical acclaim.

Years later, “Jeremy” would cultivate an audience via HBO airings in the early days of cable, but it subsequently became a film that was difficult to track down, and as the decades have passed, the movie's visibility and reputation have dimmed just a little. Fun City Editions' new Blu-Ray of “Jeremy” is likely to rectify that, bringing a new audience this intimate portrait of being a teenager in NYC during the early '70s and falling in love for the first time.

Barron's movie is straightforward and uncluttered: gawky Jeremy (Robby Benson) plays the cello and buys the daily racing form, not for betting but just for his general love of horses. His advertising father sternly wants him to study, his mother seems only interested in picking out new living room tiles. Into his life comes Susan, a new dance student (Glynnis O'Connor), whom he immediately strikes a chemistry with, leading to a whirlwind case of first-love that so often, much like adolescence itself, only lasts for so long.

Shot entirely on-location with handheld cameras – and capturing a New York City that was far from a safe place during its era – “Jeremy” is a time capsule movie that's still relatable for younger viewers. Beyond its dated cosmetic trappings, Jeremy's expansion of his feelings towards Susan is timeless, believably rendered and their mutual attraction to one another – as friends and more – is explored in an unadorned manner by Baron, a documentary filmmaker whose plain approach to this material results in a movie that's appealing and likeable, if small in scope.

After all these years reading about “Jeremy,” I confess I was a little perplexed by the reaction some of the film's most ardent fans have to the movie. As Larry Karaszewski saliently explains in his “Trailers From Hell” segment, “Jeremy” is a little movie “in a minor key” – it doesn't offer developed peripheral characters, it doesn't stray off its two leads, and doesn't really lead anywhere surprising. Yet, it has a strong sense of time and place, and captures the plight of its leads in a unique and refreshing manner that separates it from much of its era's contemporaries.

For those reasons – and especially if you have any sort of nostalgic attachment to “Jeremy” – Fun City's Blu-Ray comes highly recommended, fitting comfortably alongside another individualistic (if quite different) “youth picture,” “I Start Counting!,” that I enthusiastically recommended late last year.

FCE's Blu-Ray hails from a new 2K restoration (1.66) from its 35mm color reversal negative; given the nature of its 16mm camera work, the image is expectedly on the grainy side but looks pleasing in its natural appearance throughout. Extra features include a delightful 20-minute segment incorporating new interviews with Benson and O'Connor, who worked together again and became a couple for a time in the years following the movie, plus a video appreciation by Chris O'Neill, a commentary with Kat Ellinger and the recently-departed Mike McPadden, booklet notes from Bill Ackerman, the trailer, an image gallery, the Trailers From Hell with Karaszewski, and a short video introduction from O'Connor.