Two young women, Alison Elliott and Debbie Linden, are hitching, and picked
up by a lorry driver. They stop for coffee, and the driver, who fancies
Linden, tries to set Elliott up with his mate. She is having none of it, and
leaves. Another bloke in the restaurant, James Aubrey, also leaves, and picks
her up on the road. They get on well, and make a date for later that evening.
Meanwhile, Linden and the lorry driver pull into the wood and have it off.
The date goes well, starting with dinner and wine, moving to a nightclub,
and ending up in his bed. It is the best sex he has every had. We learn that
he is a successful musician and composer. The two become an item, and everyone
is happy about it until he discovers that she is only 14. It is inevitable
that they are caught. Parents and police make it a federal case.
This 1979 film was based on a real story, and the facts of the case are
enough to make you think long and hard.
1) The girl looked 20.
2) She drank publicly with him, again indicating she was of age.
3) She was very sexually experienced before she met the guy.
4) The police and her parents invented a rape charge when they found out.
5) He genuinely cared for her.
6) When he discovered her age, he knew he should break it off, but
didn't.
All of that certainly excuses some of what happened, but her actions after
daddy caught her indicate that she was in fact not mature enough for the
relationship, and she moved on to another guy her age too quickly and easily,
again showing she was not ready for an adult relationship.
This film is writer/director Peter Walker's one and only attempt at
socially relevant drama. Walker is otherwise known for exploitation movies,
mostly drive-in horror films. He would never write another film after this
one, although he would direct one more, The House of Long Shadows, a high camp
horror film with Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, John Carradine and Christopher
Lee.
I found Home Before Midnight very well done. The film didn't give easy
answers, but fairly presented all sides. It's Pete Walker's career
achievement, and is still as relevant today as when it was made -- perhaps
more so.
