Scratch under that veneer...
...of small town respectability and what do you find?
A cesspool!
I love how the Towers character, tries to go straight, but the town itself is "dirty" and what goes on there in unforgivable.
You can't help but feel for her when she has her heart broken.
But what is the message of the film? That if you have secret past and you try to reform, it will end in tears? That men are good for women and they need to stand on their own?