Issue fatale

In a big city, Beth Welland (Kathleen Robertson) is a divorced woman working as secretary in a law firm having problems with her boss and also financial difficulties to raise her ten year old handicapped beloved son Benji. On the day of Benji's birthday, Beth's life is completely affected when she is cut up by the executive Diana Burke (Andrea Roth) and misses the last exit in a highway, arriving late in her job. Meanwhile, Andrea is under pressure, depending on her presentation to an important client to be promoted in the company where she works, but having family problems at home, with her unemployed husband, two teenagers and a secret pregnancy. This incident early in the morning together with the stressed situations along their day will entwine and affect their lives and destinies.

I like to discover good low-budget unknown movies and "Last Exit" is one of the best I have recently seen. Living in a big city, driving every day, my daily life is no different from the two lead characters – I have problem with the violence in the traffic, being aware most of the time to avoid car hijack, at home, in my work; therefore, I have had a great identification with Diana and Beth regarding a hard day in a big city. The non-linear screenplay disclosing the parallel bad day of the two ordinary women is intriguing and suspenseful, holding the attention of the viewer until the very last scene. I only know the good "Ginger Snaps" from the director John Fawcett, but based on the sample of these two movies he seems to be a promising professional. Kathleen Robertson and Andrea Roth are awesome, developing human and totally credible characters. In the end, "Last Exit" is surprisingly refreshing and great and highly recommended. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Última Saída" ("Last Exit")

First, I saw this film in Venice, Italy last August but I didn't see all of it. We went sightseeing. Finally last night, it emerged on late night television and I made a point to watch it. The two actresses who play Beth and Diana are brilliant in their performances. Their characters are far more alike than different. Beth is a struggling single mother of a wheelchair bound son, Benji, who she loves more than anything. She is having a rough day would be an understatement. Nothing appears to go right. Benji's father bought a house an hour away and wants to file for custody of him with his wife. Beth loses her job as a result of incompetence or lack of compassion. She doesn't have enough money in her bank account to buy her son a telescope so she pawns her necklace. She gets into a road rage incident which is equally her fault but then nobody appears to stop her. Diana is a married mother of two children with another on the way. She is equally having a bad day. Her husband is unemployed and they are on the verge of losing their home. Her son was caught bringing a gun to an expensive prep school and was expelled. Her daughter's needs are never quite answered. She needs a promotion to save her family and she needs to reassure her status in the business world. I didn't like the ending. The plot was suspenseful and kept moving along but I won't spoil it for others. You have to see it to believe it.

They don't tell you this in the plot outline but early into this movie you realize that Murphy, of the ill-famed 'Murphy's Laws,' apparently has written himself into this script :^). As you're watching this movie, it will slowly reel you in. By the time you're 3/4 into it, you'll find yourself amazed, thinking just how good it is. But, by then, you're just scratching the surface of where this movie is going to take you. And by the end, you'll be glad that you decided to invest the time to watch it. This movie leaves you feeling. And, most importantly, you'll learn something about life and yourself from the experience because, during the movie, you'll be constantly comparing your life to the ones you're witnessing on the screen. And I bet, you'll see a bit of yourself there sometimes. This movie makes you profoundly think about a lot of things. Kudos to the director.

This is one of those movies that is a bit like a road movie, it moves along at a smooth pace and sort of starts, continues and finishes and at the end you think..blimey!, that may have been a lot about nothing really, BUT, I didn't once look at the clock, I didn't once leave my seat, and just watched and watched.

From the opening scene you think you know the plot, but that's the twist, you actually don't. The whole drama moves at a sufficient pace that you don't keep trying to guess the end, you just watch and learn.

This movie is a bit like a good book, you never want to turn to the last page, you just enjoy the journey and when you reach the end you feel sufficiently satisfied to pick up another.

Most people will be able to empathise with both lead characters, some days just turn out bad and every way you turn just throws up another obstacle. Although it's listed as a 'made for TV' movie, it shouldn't put you off, I've seen far worse at the cinema.

Good movie, great and plausible leading ladies.. Enjoy.

Against a gritty urban landscape, Last Exit follows a single day in the lives of Beth Welland and Diana Burke, two mothers following two seemingly different paths. Beth (Kathleen Robertson) is a single mother to Benji, a young boy confined to a wheelchair and their cramped apartment overlooking an expressway. While Beth seems to take it all in stride, a growing desperation lurks beneath her sunny disposition. For Diana (Andrea Roth), a married mother of two with a highly successful career in advertising, life is all about keeping everybody else happy amidst the growing anxiety that she may be in over her head. In the oppressive heat of an urban summer, the lives of these two women have violently collided. And, as police officers race to their uncertain rescue, parallel flashbacks gradually bring the shards of a shattered puzzle back into focus, providing the truthful and deeply unsettling causes for the tragic effects. What ensues will change both women, together with the people they love, completely and for the rest of their lives. The film had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and I found myself deeply changed by the experience. Beth and Diana's struggle stayed with me for days and more than once, and had a profound impact on my attitude and actions when I'm behind the wheel. If you've ever experienced the frustration of daily commuting through a congested urban centre, you will relate. Last Exit is a definite must-see.