Last Night

What can I say about Last Night that hasn't already been said? Well, to start, I feel this is the kind of Canadian film we Canadians have been BEGGING to see for years. However, because of the fact that the film saw limited release in arthouse theatres across the country, and is just appearing on video now, chances are good that Last Night will not be seen by a large majority of the public if not sent in to full release across the United States.

This movie is Canadian -- without shoving the fact that it is down your throat.

Now, on to the actual guts of the movie. I find the understatement of the fact that the world IS ending in six short hours to be so uniquely Canadian. There is an odd, somewhat macabre scene in the movie where McKellar's character is being harassed by his mother for showing up late for "Christmas" dinner. Not once does mother mention the end of the world. McKellar's response? "... and in case you haven't noticed the world is going to end today, and I've had a lot on my mind."

Getting off my maple leaf waving-high-horse, I will say this: the performances by McKellar, Sandra Oh and Callum Keith Rennie are nothing short of superb. They portray characters you at times love, hate, and fear, because there are times (many times) that we see ourselves in these characters.

The soundtrack for Last Night (available on the Sony Classical label) is a mixture of both the corniest music on the face of the earth (Burton Cummings' live performance of Glamour Boy) to great oldies (Last Night [I Didn't Get to Sleep at All]) to songs few (if any people) have ever heard before (i.e. the Defranco Family's "Heartbeat, its a Lovebeat")

The story moves at a graceful pace, there are no surprise endings, and the characters are human(e). Last Night is a masterpiece.

"Last Day" is a really good film that shouldn't be watched by persons suffering from clinical depression. The first rate acting from a cast of Canadian regulars really draws the viewer in from the onset, totally absorbing you into their doomed world. I remember getting the same feeling during this film as I did with "The Day After" as both are able to make you forget very quickly that everything will be fine when the movie's finished. The excellent character development, sharp sense of irony, and stylish subtlety of the film create a near perfect calling card for the director whose future work will be much sought after.

I found LAST NIGHT quite thought-provoking and moving the first time I saw it and its impact on me has only grown over time. This is an amazingly sophisticated and well-executed film for a first-time director. What I find thrilling about it is both the fine balance it finds between ideas and emotional resonance and its sense of tonal unity and control. The images and music have stayed with me for years. Despite the melancholic events of the story and the sense of loss that permeates the film (after all, we are talking about the end of the world here), a mordant sense of humour and finally a romantic, optimistic heart leavens the story's darkness, without pushing the movie into cheap sentimentality or melodrama (Armageddon, anyone?). All this and only one of the most memorable closing images in modern film! Seek it out. It's worth it.

There are films that are great, but by virtue of their intelligence and understatement fall through the cracks - or go on over the years to achieve 'cult' status. Paul Auster's 'Smoke', or Thomas McCarthy's 'The Station Agent' are a couple. This is such a film, and for fans of these types of 'smarter', less 'hollywood' productions there is no greater cinematic experience than finding such a gem. This is unpretentious and real - and ultimately honest and rewarding. Don McKellar has crafted something really special.

I have seen this film twice, and believe that it is certainly one of the best films of 1998. One person brought that people wouldn't be violent on the day when the world ends, but come together in a type of philosophical togetherness. I was stunned by that idea, assuming that the cynicism that permeates today's culture would have enforced that idea, that violence will be around. The end of the world is a violent thought, as exemplified in films such as Armageddon and Deep Impact (true, they were stupid films). But that aside, Last Night is a powerful and very introspective look at the lives of several people who's lives happen to be interwoven on the last day of the world. It begs the question "what would you do with the final six hours". Many have remarked on the tone, and I have to heap more praise on the subtle irony that is found throughout the film. Why is the world ending? The audience doesn't find out. Whether one's appreciation of the film diminishes or grows for this ambitious step is purely personal. For a ninety minute film, it's ambition in depicting six lives is interesting, and it's only mistake. For the movie to do justice to all the characters, it needed to be at least half an hour longer. But that singular flaw does not negate the film's final achievement.

The entire cast is sensational, even if they're on for short periods of time. Rennie and Oh took home well deserved Genie awards for their brilliant performances, but I felt McKellar's performance was the most intriguing. He has a talent for not poignant drama, but scenes of almost deadpan-type comedy (where Sandra asks him the favour).

Don McKellar has got to be among the most versatile writers around. After writing Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, the fragmented biopic about the famous pianist, and The Red Violin, another slightly fragmented story told through and about a violin, he wrote, directed, and starred in Last Night, and apocalyptic dramedy (or an ironic tragicomedy), and he does it with supreme style. Last Night is a film not to be missed, but to be pondered over and savoured.