Una sola noche

Last Night is a typical movie that my girlfriend would usually enjoy on our movie date on Fridays. Romance! Another chick flick I thought. I was actually in suspense from beginning to end. What's so great about this movie is that fact that many of us could've empathized in any end of the spectrum. For a movie that took place in one day, it wasn't as obvious since each plot was meticulously thought of. In any given moment I'm expecting to guess the next scene, no cigar. What really got me is the end. The writer left us in suspense. Okay are you going to say something about the purple stilettos? I hope there's a part two. This definitely a couples movie. This movie definitely deserve a better rating than what's given.

I am very surprised "Last Night" got a rather lukewarm user rating on IMDb. From my point of view it is a movie that is very honest, if terrible in its depiction of relationships, love and faith. There were many moments, where I expected the movie to lose its momentum, where the filmmakers could have chickened out, but that never happened. Maybe too much is talked about, when some things could have been told through pictures. Then again, I found all dialog very believable. My only criticism concerns Sam Worthington's rather wooden performance. Apart from that "Last Night" really knocked me off my feet, from the beginning right until the brilliant final scene.

Rather enjoyed this film at the Rome Film Festival last night. The atmosphere of New York by night and the soundtrack itself made it worth the half an hour delay getting in! The main performances are strong, Keira puts in a surprisingly convincing interpretation as the wife who meets her previous love the day her husband is out of town with a female colleague he likes. It discusses the nature of love, betrayal, marriage and sentiment in a thoughtful way, without the usual labelling of people as cheaters and victims. It should encourage us to realise that life and relationships are more complex and that ultimately, nobody really belongs to anyone (however much we might like to think we do). It's a shame these days that we only get to see the lives of the beautiful, very well-to-do folk (in their wonderful apartments, sipping on fine wine) on the big screen as if temptation within marriage was a luxury that only the wealthy and obscenely photogenic can afford. Anyway, universal themes are dealt with well and it's good fodder for a long conversation afterwards.

LAST NIGHT is a tightly woven tale that explores the psyches of four people in one fascinating evening. This is the initial directing outing for Iranian-American writer Massy Tadjedin ('The Jacket', 'Leo') who also created the story and the script: the film is so fine that we doubtless will be hearing more about her.

Joanna Reed (Keira Knightley) is a beautiful young writer married to commercial real estate developer Michael Reed (Sam Worthington) in what appears to be a happy marriage despite the struggle between two careers. Michael takes Joanna to a company party and there she observes the soft spoken Michael paying attention to one of his co-workers, the sensuous Laura (Eva Mendes), an act that Joanna feels indicates unfaithfulness or at least suspicious behavior on Michael's part. The seed of doubt is planted, Michael is leaving for a business trip to Philadelphia the next morning with his coworkers Andy (Anson Mount) and Laura, and there is friction between Joanna and Michael that Michael's reassurance cannot overcome. The next day as Joanna sops for coffee she encounters an old flame from her time spent writing in Paris - Alex Mann (Guillaume Cadet) - and they agree to meet that evening. Chemistry resurges and that evening as Alex and Joanna dine with Alex's publisher Truman (Griffin Dunne), both are questioned by Truman about their past affair, Joanna admits she is now married, and Alex is in a relationship in Paris. The couple leaves and circumstances lead them to return to Joanna's apartment where they face their feelings. At the same time as this evening is developing Michael and Laura enter a seduction dance: Michael is faithful to Joanna but the emotionally bruised Laura persists in her attempt to pull Michael into her web. The manner in which each of these temptations resolves and the aftermath is the brilliance of Massy's writing and direction: this is a story written very much form a women's vantage and that fact allows each of the characters to become very well defined and credible.

The quartet of actors is well matched: Knightley continues to mature as a fine actress, Sam Worthington breaks out of his stodgy shell to allow us to see a man driven by fidelity and tempted by lust, Eva Mendes takes Laura to a higher dimension of being, and Guillaume Cadet is undeniably an Alex who few women could resist: he has true star power. The method of pairing the development of the one night by flashing back and forth between the progress of the two couples in the dance of seduction vs fidelity is extremely successful. This is a thinking person's movie and an introduction of a writer/director who already has shaped the beginnings of a successful career. Highly Recommended.

Grady Harp

Saw this movie at the Tribeca Film Festival and can say that I was truly taken aback by the brilliance of such a simple concept. The movie about a married couple amid marital temptation is very well acted and directed. The film captures the vibe of the Tribeca lifestyle and the trials of a young marriage. Sam Worthington does an amazing job as the reserved husband in love with his wife. The film is well-paced and builds to a crescendo of will they or wont they infidelities. Visually the movie is simple but the effects of overlapping pictures and conversations highlights the similarities of temptation and the differences between men and women. The story was truly amazing and the best movie I have seen in 2011.