Arthur Penn's Four Friends recalls another one of his films about teenagers lost in the cultural miasma of 1960s America: Alice's Restaurant (1969). Both films follow young men who try and make sense of a society that is quickly devouring itself. Alice's Restaurant may have a more authentic portrayal of 60s culture due to it actually being made in 1969. But Four Friends is much more introspective and personal than I remember Alice's Restaurant being. Four Friends is actually more focused on one character: Yugoslavian-born Danilo Prozor. After coming to America at the age of 12, he finds himself torn between his old country and his new home. These feelings are exacerbated by his three best friends: the timid, overweight David, the handsome Tom, and the (obnoxiously) free-spirited Georgia. To say Georgia is eccentric is an understatement. We see here a character in full maniac-pixie-dream-girl mode, imagining herself as the reincarnation of Isadora Duncan, dressing outrageously even for the era, and trying her damnedest to alienate everyone around her. Of course, the other three friends are inexplicably in love with her. The film then watches as the four friends fall in and out of love, in and out of jobs, and in and out of touch with each other. It's a bittersweet film about nostalgia and regret that, in my opinion, surpasses Alice's Restaurant.
7/10
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