The role of a teen sexpot would've been a natural for Diana Dors in her younger days so it's entirely appropriate to see her as the mother of Linda Hayden here. Dors is very effective in her small part, looking sad in the opening moments before she kills herself, traumatising her daughter.
This film is less pervy than I thought. It's fairly pervy - Hayden was fifteen and she goes topless and flashes her backside in some scenes (does that make this movie illegal now?) but it's clear she's a victim. The son leches after her and the mother seduces her and the father isn't caring.
She also gets drooled over by a friend of dad (Dick Emery), a black man at a nightclub with stoned friends, some rapist rowers.
I wasn't sure if the film was being complex or simply didn't have a cohesive vision. The story seems to build to melodrama that doesn't happen.
It is interesting - it keeps you guessing, Hayden is good as are all the actors, and Alistair Reid's direction is frequently imaginative and lively.
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