The story, as several reviewers have noted, follows the Booby Gentry ballad.<br /><br />Glynnis O'Connor, as a young woman coming of age in rural Mississippi. Robby Benson is good, although the story itself awkward at times, and at times when the plot is revealed outright embarrassing, with an improbable twist.<br /><br />When this film came out, I saw this in the theater. It was considered radical at the time, much like "Summer of '42" in that there is a secret revealed which audiences clamored to see. Unfortunately, what is revealed is that Mr. Barksdale has taken liberties with Billy Joe; and Billy Joe eventually ends his life.<br /><br />Glynnis O'Connor does well, portraying confusion, frustration and passion; the melange of emotions of a young woman, who wants to find love. One of the final scenes, when she encounters Barksdale on the Tallahatchie Bridge, is quite touching and sad. She sounds to him a world-weary adult, after all that has happened she tells Barksdale to basically, move on. Nothing can be done. It is time to let go. Moving in its finality, she is a young woman going out in the world with nothing but a suitcase; when he asks her what she will do she says "somehow I'll manage".<br /><br />The ballad is evocative of earlier, hazy days in the country. While I have not lived in Mississippi, I have visited it and South Georgia, and also resided in rural northern Florida for a time. There is still the sense of the south, a slower pace, even today.<br /><br />If you like movies of this era, you may enjoy this. The cinematography reflects the stillness and unspoiled beauty of the rural South. 8/10