| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
|
 Posted - 06/06/2009 : 21:22:04
|
Last Chance Harvey
The set up is as simple as it needs to be.
He [Dustin Hoffman] flies to London for his daughter's wedding, dreading having to make conversation with his ex-wife and her recent hubby.
She [Emma Thompson] is a fiercely single career woman, welded into those hiking boots that are leading her over the hill.
He writes jingles instead of giving it all up to pursue his dream of playing jazz piano.
She copes with a souless job doing professional airport surveys, as well as with a mother whose constant phonecalls, we will learn later, are perfectly justified.
These are two unremarkable people to whom life has dealt hands they play with a certain zen acceptance and good humour. When things go awry they almost expect it. And both are old enough to know they'll be a way out. Somehow. Two very nice people who'd never meet in a zillion years had not this script thrown them together.
The script is no more remarkable than the people. It feels as though it might have been a stageplay, even though it wasn't. It feels as though it might be an updating of a film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, even though it isn't. It's nowhere near that good.
But the pairing of Hoffman and Thompson is what makes the film and tugs your heartstrings, no matter how cold a bastard you think you are. And that's simply because here are two truly sublime actors forgetting all the bullshit and just ... well, just being.
Not to denigrate Hoffman in any way, but Thompson is just so brilliant as the middle-aged Kate Walker she's on my early list for a Best Actress award. The journey she makes from her cocoon of mundanity to finally setting free the repressed pain, and one particular scene overlooking the Thames ... well, you can study acting for a lifetime and never quite reach that level of truth.
So, if you can bear a harmless enough, slighty better than the usual rom-com fare, just sit back and let that fine, fine acting take you to another place.
|
|
|
ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
|
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 07:31:18
|
You know, I saw Hoffman interview on Ellen and a small clip of this, and said "hm... looks okay to me". I'm glad it is just that, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it.
Thanks for this! |
 |
|
|
Wheelz 
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
Posted - 06/08/2009 : 17:22:15
|
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
So, if you can bear a harmless enough, slighty better than the usual rom-com fare, just sit back and let that fine, fine acting take you to another place.
I think you nailed it perfectly with this line.
It's a fairly mediocre, predictable script that Hoffman and Thompson manage to raise to another level. In addition to Thompson's scene by the river, I was quite moved by Hoffman's speech at the wedding.
In all, I found it a surprisingly pleasant diversion to help pass the time on a recent flight. |
|
|
|
Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 01:43:35
|
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
a mother whose constant phonecalls, we will learn later, are perfectly justified.
Eh? I must have missed that.
Last Chance Harvey
I love a good romcom and found this to be one. As others say, nice performances from them both.
Wish I could manage a better pun on Shine On Harvey Moon than I have so far managed, though. |
|
|
|
ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
|
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 08:14:15
|
Well, my review hasn't been accepted yet by the MERPs but I did see this and I agree with Bafta. I particularly liked that there was no predictable dialogue and the little physical comedy was muted enough to keep it real and laughable, without falling into slapstick. Not even Eileen Atkins' bits as Emma's mother go totally overboard, and are probably the funniest bits of the whole movie*. There's an honesty here that few rom-coms achieve, not the least of which is how the relationship between them never gets mushy or sentimental.
(*If you haven't seen the film yet, when you do, remember not to walk out at the beginning of the credits or you'll miss an extra bit with Eileen Atkins that's just precious!)
|
|
|
|
Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 14:45:56
|
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
If you haven't seen the film yet, when you do, remember not to walk out at the beginning of the credits or you'll miss an extra bit with Eileen Atkins that's just precious!)
Perhaps this answers my query above. Damn. |
|
|
|
ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
|
Posted - 07/08/2009 : 10:49:44
|
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
If you haven't seen the film yet, when you do, remember not to walk out at the beginning of the credits or you'll miss an extra bit with Eileen Atkins that's just precious!)
Perhaps this answers my query above. Damn.
No, it doesn't, really. Mostly because I'm not sure why Bafta says her calls are "perfectly justified". |
|
|
|
BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
|
Posted - 07/08/2009 : 11:00:30
|
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
[quote]Originally posted by Salopian
[quote]Originally posted by ChocolateLady
I'm not sure why Bafta says her calls are "perfectly justified".
When mom and daughter finally have that deep heart-2-heart it's revealed why they share such emotional interdependence. They're each adjusting to it in their own way - mutual support takes many forms, and is threatened by many things.
When the neighbour's doings are first interpreted as suspect, they try to be rational,and when that particular plot-line is resolved, the mom-daughter dialogue makes even more sense.
I'm not saying this is the best script I've ever seen, but it's packed with nuances that keep elucidating character ... and all to serve the purpose of justifying/enhancing the main romance.
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Last Chance Harvey
