Suburban Long Island is a hideaway for commuters, but what about those who live and work in a small town and seldom get to the Big Apple? In Judy Berlin, we see the dull living of townspeople in Babylon (actually Oyster Bay), where almost everyone keeps going because they have illusions, albeit unfulfilled. Director Eric Mendelsohn, who hails from such a community, won Best Director award at Sundance for this black-and-white view of a town from dawn until dusk on a September day in the 1950s when there was a total eclipse of the sun, which like the townspeople could only be viewed safely through the peephole of a sheet of black paper. The eclipse, of course, is a paradigm how the ambitions of the people have been dimmed by their own timidity — that is, except for Judy Berlin (played by Edie Falco), who announces at the beginning of the film that she is leaving for Hollywood that day to launch her career as an actress and spends much of the day saying good-byes. It is the second day of the school year, and Judy’s mother Sue (played by Barbara Barrie) reports to work, eventually catching the eye (and later the unexpected kiss) of principal Arthur Gold (played by Bob Dishy). However, the film centers on Arthur’s son David (played by Aaron Harnick), who has been to Hollywood but has returned home at the age of 30, bitter because his talent was unrecognized; the only one in the film lacking illusions, he wanders around, running into all the peculiarities of the town that gave him the simple faith that he could make it in the film industry. We observe the foibles of many residents (and in two cases hear their Freudian dreams), and we laugh on many occasions, though the comedy is bittersweet. The town in which time seems to be standing still is well personified by senile retired teacher Dolores Engler (played by Bette Henritze), who is first seen staring interminably at the sun, presumably waiting for the eclipse that is to come in an hour or so, and then goes back to school, barges into Sue Berlin’s classroom, slaps Sue’s face for being her successor, and finally is escorted from the classroom. Although David is doubtless surprised when Judy tells him that in high school she had a crush on him, and he kisses her rather perfunctorily, he tries to tell Judy that she does not have the talent to survive in Hollywood. Judy, however, has not only made up her mind but also tries to persuade David to get over his obvious depression by making a film about the town in which he grew up. Her mood, in short, prevails as she leaves town bushy-tailed, while the rest of the town, in darkness, turns inward as storm windows are put in place while the cold of autumn increases. Comparisons with the black-and-white portions of Pleasantville (1998) are obvious. However, Judy Berlin enables us to appreciate the virtues of the 1950s, when the suburban middle class retained much unpretentious dignity, not realizing that their problem might be lack of self-esteem. MH