Pat(Doug Chapin) returns from Vietnam and his best friend from youth, Jesse(Richard Hatch)introduces him to fiancé Kathy(Susanne Benton). Jo Ella(Ann Noland)is Pat's former flame and the four of them decide to go on a cross country escapade before Jesse and Kathy get married. Pat, as the others slowly learn, isn't the same man he was before Vietnam, and his obsessive desire to have Jesse all to himself, friends without the interference of others, yields destructive consequences.
Fascinating character study documents the desperate lengths a friend will resort to in regards to maintaining a relationship with his pal from childhood. Doug Chapin is a revelation as the obviously disturbed Pat, jealous of how Kathy has "ensnared" his buddy's love. I think there's an apparent homo-sexual subtext involved as Pat will commence in destroying the bond between Kathy and Jesse by any means possible. Jo Ella becomes an unfortunate tool used in this process, but when a sexual incident with Jesse doesn't erode their pact, Pat will eventually threaten to both rape and harm Kathy(..including a despicable action where Pat purposely leads Kathy towards an area where a slithering rattler is located).
Truly a sad picture(..through Chapin's stellar performance, you can see the traumatic damage of what war can cause, his psychosis fueled further by Jesse's love to another) with a tragic conclusion as Kathy yearns for Jesse to drive their RV home as it becomes clear that Pat is unstable and dangerous. The inevitable climax, after Jesse denounces Pat's demand to have Kathy to himself, is haunting and grim. Good performances, with a gripping narrative that explores the corrosive nature of a friendship that interrupts the bliss of a couple whose love is tested in every conceivable way. Beautiful photography and scenic locations where our four travel enhance the story.
What will remain with me is the fact that in not departing from his troubled, unpredictable friend, Jesse places Kathy in grave danger, not understanding(..or maybe, accepting, is a more appropriate word)just how serious a threat Pat really is to her.
Fascinating character study documents the desperate lengths a friend will resort to in regards to maintaining a relationship with his pal from childhood. Doug Chapin is a revelation as the obviously disturbed Pat, jealous of how Kathy has "ensnared" his buddy's love. I think there's an apparent homo-sexual subtext involved as Pat will commence in destroying the bond between Kathy and Jesse by any means possible. Jo Ella becomes an unfortunate tool used in this process, but when a sexual incident with Jesse doesn't erode their pact, Pat will eventually threaten to both rape and harm Kathy(..including a despicable action where Pat purposely leads Kathy towards an area where a slithering rattler is located).
Truly a sad picture(..through Chapin's stellar performance, you can see the traumatic damage of what war can cause, his psychosis fueled further by Jesse's love to another) with a tragic conclusion as Kathy yearns for Jesse to drive their RV home as it becomes clear that Pat is unstable and dangerous. The inevitable climax, after Jesse denounces Pat's demand to have Kathy to himself, is haunting and grim. Good performances, with a gripping narrative that explores the corrosive nature of a friendship that interrupts the bliss of a couple whose love is tested in every conceivable way. Beautiful photography and scenic locations where our four travel enhance the story.
What will remain with me is the fact that in not departing from his troubled, unpredictable friend, Jesse places Kathy in grave danger, not understanding(..or maybe, accepting, is a more appropriate word)just how serious a threat Pat really is to her.