Set on the south shore of Long Island in 1976, around the time of the Ford-Carter presidential debates (which are glimpsed on TV), this smart and sensitive 2006 feature focuses on the social milieu of young clam diggers whose profession is getting phased out by a corporation. Director Katherine Dieckmann, a former film critic at the Village Voice, has also made music videos and one earlier feature (A Good Baby), and she has a good feeling for the period and the characters’ sexual attitudes and interactions. Ken Marino, who plays the silliest of the diggers, wrote the script, and when it isn’t straining after elegiac moments, it’s fresh and unpredictable. With Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Ron Eldard, Josh Hamilton, Sarah Paulson, and Maura Tierney. R, 90 min. (JR)