The Last Movie

I was knocked out by the power of it, by the surprising way it builds and the turn it takes once Elizabeth Seitz comes on the scene. She is a fabulous actress and she completely captivated me.

I was reminded of The Black Swan, which exploits mental illness for its revulsion factor, Darren Aronofsky's forte. The Last Movie is not exploitative, but rather points a critical finger at the professional creative community who can easily push fragile creative minds over the edge. I know this happens. When Elizabeth says, "...or too much too late" we know things aren't going well.  Bruce Pittman's performance as Nick Crawley the director of the remake, adds a comic layer. All his puffy-cheeked sighs and 'Oh-boys' and bad dreams give us a peek at the ordinariness of creative work. The producer's appearances via Skype are true-to-life and specific, so we don't just see the cliché money-man ruining the precious creative vision. I love the whole discussion of female actors' beauty vs talent. And all the juicy details about movie-making, like wardrobe and lighting tests – I eat that stuff up. I found Nick's wish to make high art while doing a low-budget commercial remake of a so-so foreign film acquired for virtually no money pretty rich. This feeling works perfectly with the fact that Elizabeth is pushed towards her edge in a fairly irresponsible way by this ambitious and cynical director. The scene where Nick records his thoughts on his career is really strong. It seeds that awful flashlight-under-the-chin hallucination of Nick's face, as seen in the trailer.  I like all the sort of multimedia editing and the cutting-in of the documentary-in-the-making with all the echoes and computer screen treatments that a young documentarian would use. The way Pittman has mixed together the stylish noir photography of the Russian movie, the very current special-features doc look, and the straight realism of Elizabeth's story makes for a richly layered film that left me with lots to think about. It's one of those movies, like Shutter Island, that when you watch it the second time, it's like watching a whole different film.

A very unique little movie – at once a truly believable black and white noir film; a wonderfully entertaining drama document on remaking the noir film and finally a nifty little horror film in the vein of Polanski's Repulsion. It sounds complicated, but all these pieces fit together seamlessly in a tight view of old movies and modern filmmaking. The photography and design of the film in total keeping with the genre and beautifully done. Beyond this, it is a terrific psychological study of madness. The performance by Elizabeth Gondek as the actress is a chilling portrayal of someone falling apart piece by piece. Kudos to the whole cast and writer-director Bruce Pittman. I can only hope this is not his last movie.

I took a chance on this film because I love film noir. The Last Movie is so much more.

It begins as a classic black and white noir movie then becomes a film about remaking this film.

Along the way it details the creative process and frustrations of a film director trying to put it all together.

Slowly the story of the remake becomes its own horror film.

It makes for a unique and thoroughly entertaining movie with totally believable characters and performances.

I loved the black and white photography by Rick Wincenty in the old noir film. Very evocative of some of my favorites from the 1940's

Editorially, the film moves like an express train from start to finish.

If you're looking for something a little different – you can't go wrong with The Last Movie.

Dispirited at the current state of Canadian cinema, veteran Toronto director Bruce Pittman simply made one of his own. Titled the Last Movie it is a top rated film noir filled with suspense and some laughs courtesy of our flagging film industry, And the wonder is Pittman shot it mainly in his Riverdale home using nonunion crew and players. The effect is mesmerizing, a triumph of cinematography and scripting, beautifully photographed and edited so very precisely. It is compulsively watchable and is playing this week at Toronto's Royal cinema along College Street. This is what film making is all about. I give it **** 1/2 stars and I'm deeply grateful for the experience. It shows me Canadian films are not dead and buried but alive and vibrant.

The opening half of the last movie traces the efforts of an independent

filmmaker to do a remake of a Russian thriller. It seamlessly combines healthy doses

of the original Russian film with both a documentary of the making of the film and the private tribulations the director goes through to make the film.

The last half involves the casting of a new actress to play the femme fatale in the

New film. Here is where the film becomes a psychological thriller in the tradition

of Polanski's Repulsion.

Hats off to a film that tries to be a little different from the current fare.