Movie

Ode to Billy Joe

1976 · 105 min

A slow, humid coming-of-age tragedy steeped in small-town gossip and forbidden desire, heavy with dread and tenderness.

Tagline: What the song didn't tell you, the movie will.
Overview: Set in sultry 1950s Mississippi, two teenagers grapple with surging hormones and the enticing promise of love, unknowing of the tragedy that looms ahead.
How it feels: Melancholic, romantic, earnest and dark. Slow-burning and needs your attention.
About: Coming-of-age, identity, grief, isolation
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
romanticstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: coming-of-age
identity
grief
isolation
family
Places: small town
countryside
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: true story
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild