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.

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.

Don McKellar directs/wrote/stars in one small movie that asks us... what is REALLY important?

The world is about to end (how is irrelevant) and we follow a (seemingly) random bunch of people as they fill there last hours.

On one level they all want to make dreams/desires/fantasies they've held onto happen. Our main character, Patrick Wheeler is caught between fulfilling his parents plans and his own.

I don't want to give too much of this simple, beautiful and heartfelt movie away, but I think it boils down to a question of opening ourselves up - to be less alone - and to let love in. I think that one thing Mr. McKellar is trying to say is that the power of love- true love (NOT lust) will get us through - no matter what the obstacle.

I've seen this movie several times, and am the last person to be swayed by big Hollywood films that try to "steer" you to "feel" for their characters. Last Night is NOT an action picture. It moves slowly, and builds to an ending that never fails to bring a tear to my eye. I hope you enjoy it is much as I do.

"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.

Don McKellar's less pretentious works (here, I exempt the Red Violin, of which I am not particularly fond) always seem to deliver what I need, if not quite what I want. There's always *something* about each work that bugs me a bit; but like the bit of gravel in your hiking boots that makes the trek that little bit more memorable, that little bit more real, I always wonder: would I really have been happier without it?

Last Night -- a subtle, oddly serene film about the world ending, not quite with a bang, not quite with a whimper -- but with a gently rueful, and very human, shrug -- is typical, in this regard. I more than merely like this film -- I believe I'd put it among my top ten favourite works, and I've seen a *lot* of movies -- but as a matter of honesty, I have to warn anyone who hasn't seen it yet, it does have more than a few rough edges.

The acting's a bit uneven, and ranges from borderline painful to actually stunning; I find the occasionally hysterical mother played by Roberta Maxwell painfully cliched. Bujold, on the other hand, you just have to see. Oh is memorable, surprisingly powerful. McMullen I still can't make my mind up about. McKellar is, well, McKellar. I can't help liking the character, even if it does seem a manipulative kinda setup that makes it so.

The script does amble a bit. It's kinda the nature of the story. And McKellar's fondness for clever, throwaway lines sometimes gets the best of him, in my view, both in his own part and in McMullen's.

But these are minor flaws, forgivable (or, as above, perhaps necessary), in an otherwise actually brilliant piece of work.

And overall, the writing, I have to say, is the best I've seen from McKellar yet. This a very delicately balanced script, marvelously restrained. Somehow, McKellar has made a movie in which regret, euphoria, and dread circle each other warily for an hour and a half, without melodrama once rising up out of the mix. There are believable moments of hysteria; they generally punctuate the prevailing current of reflection, resignation, and quiet desperation entirely believably and appropriately.

The ending... I'm not breathing a word about the ending.

Apart from this: it's flawless.

My vote: see it.