Last Orders
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Movie Reviews of Last Orders
Movie Review: Pleasing visit down memory lane......
Summary: 4 Stars
Looking for a sentimental Brit flick that leaves you feeling good? Try LAST ORDERS with a stellar ensemble of favorite actors- Michael Caine, Helen Mirran, Bob Hoskins, David Hemmings and Tom Courtenay. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of old friends who travel from their favorite pub in London to the Margate Pier to scatter the ashes of one of their group, Jack, who has made the request his `last orders' (phrase used when the bar is closing). Using flashbacks, the Fred Schepisi, director of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, weaves a wonderful tale of one man's life as seen through the eyes of the friends and family who loved him. Jack Dodd (Michale Caine) and Abby (Helen Mirran) were married for over 50 years. One of Jack's friends (Bob Hoskins) is a buddy from his WWII days who made his fortune playing the horses. Another (David Hemmings), is an ex-prize fighter. Yet another (Tom Cortenay), is an undertaker who began his career of tending to the dead during the war. Their son (Ray Winstone) is a successful Mercedes-Benz dealer who makes a good deal more money than his dad who never recovered from the fact his son would not join him in the family meat business.
On the trip to Margate Pier, each friend and family member recalls Jack, whose ashes are to be taken to the seaside place he and Abby visited years earlier. Each of them remembers a charming vignette that took place with Jack in London, southern England (Kent County) and/or the Middle East at some point during the last 50 years of the 20th century. This film is a must for the dedicated Anglophile and those nostalgic for past times. The transfer of the film is excellent and the beautiful shots include visits to a WWII memorial in Kent, Canterbury Cathedral, and Margate Pier which is really a sort of paved boardwalk ("the jetty washed away years ago").
Movie Review: Well done but very hard to understand
Summary: 4 Stars
The movies central characters are a bunch of bar buddies that have spent their adult lives in and around one another. When one of them dies, the life of the party; Michael Caine, his last orders are for his ashes to be poured in the Ocean off a local seaside resort pier. This requires the bunch of them (his 3 bar buddies and his son) to drive about a day away to complete this last task for their friend.The dialogue is very well done, but I'm sorry to say for me, very hard to understand. As an American, the dialogue was fast and with too many British figures of speak to pick up quick. I'm sure I missed 25% of the movie. Given that, what I did catch was marvelous.
As with any group of people that spent their lives together, they are intertwined with tensions and there is a history behind each one. The movie flashes back to bits of recollection and gives some history for the tensions involved. I thought this was very well done. It gave you the true feeling that many have when a person passes away: He was just sitting here yesterday! This is really brought home with the flashbacks.
Michael Caine is the central character and the man that has passed away. His character and his past is well portrayed as well as that of his friends. You get a sense of what pulls them together as well as what repels them about one another. It is not a bigger than life story, but one you can easily imagine yourself being part of.
Here you see how some men grieve; silently, quietly and most often alone. You can also see as we all do, when another dies, we all start to take stock as well.
This is not a horribly sad movie, as the remembering is not done in a maudlin way. These men remember their friend, the fun they had together, the animosities each have felt at time, then like with most of us, life goes on.
Movie Review: British, all-male version of "The Joy Luck Club"
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been waiting for this movie to open since its world premier at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, and I was not disappointed. Based on Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning novel, the story is somewhat predictable, but engaging and touching, and it had me from the very beginning to the poignant and emotional (but not melodramatic) conclusion. Imagine the British, all-male version of "The Joy Luck Club", and you'll get a vague idea. I think Fred Schepisi tried too hard to cram everything from the book into the movie though, and much of the times the story moves along too swiftly. The movie cuts back and forth between the present and flashbacks so often that individual stories don't really have the time to develop, and sometimes I felt like I was watching a very long movie trailer. The cast is absolutely superb. As Roger Ebert put it, it's got all the great British actors who are not in "Gosford Park" (Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings and Bob Hoskins), and one who is (Helen Mirren). Of course, it's always a thrill to see Ray Winstone on the big screen, especially if he's not playing a wife-beater.
Movie Review: Closing time, so who will buy the last round?
Summary: 3 Stars
Friends. Not just ones that we occasionally see on the weekends, but those that buy you a round when they know you are blue, those that have lived their life right next to yours, those that will not quit even when you want them to forget about you - those are the friends that remain constantly in your mind. In "Last Orders" we have a unique opportunity to see a group of four friends escape their lives to take one of their greatest friends (and family) to his final resting place. Using a flashback technique that teeters on confusing at times, we witness six of our greatest actors dive deep into the hearts and souls of the characters they are portraying. For once, in cinematic history, we see a story unfold that each and every one of the actors support, as well as contributes more than 100% to their respected roles. This isn't a perfect film, but the flaws are overshadowed by the actors. Each and every one of the actors in this film carried their weight (and then some) as we felt our heartstrings pulled and friendship refreshed.
As already mentioned, the acting in this film is superb. It reminds me of discovering that perfect bottle of wine - all the characteristics of the blend are working in unison, creating a masterpiece out of what would be nothing more than than just your standard bottle of grapes. The core of this film is bland. "Last Orders" will not impress you with phenomenal storytelling or scenes that will demand your full attention - in fact - if it weren't for the actors who took their subsequent roles in this film - I probably would have fallen asleep shortly after the credits. "Last Orders" is a dry film. There is no denying that, but what sets the bar are the actors. Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins give the performances of their careers in this little independent film that should have seen more attention.. Helen Mirren continues to prove that she is one of those diamonds in the rough when it comes to small roles. She can handle either the big stuff or the small stuff, she continues to give her full ability each time. The rest of the cast, Tom Courtenay and David Hemmings, make this group of friends even more thoughtful. Then, there is Ray Winstone. I have always appreciated his work since seeing him in "Sexy Beast", and this film just brought him to a whole new appreciative level. He works, along with the rest of the players in this film, to ensure that their heart and minds are diving their characters into our hearts. It is amazing that even with a weak script, this film was made better by those involved both behind the camera and in front of it.
With this applause for the actors, of which I can continue, but would sound like a repetitive critic, I must say that I wasn't impressed with the story. I thought that director Fred Schepisi did a decent job with the imagery, long viewing landscapes accompanying our lush actors, but this story was a challenge to create as a screen writer. Throughout his commentary, he talks about how he felt he had to guide the audience better through the flashbacks - there were quite a bit of them - but without giving us the proper guidance, we just jumped. That was tough because we weren't fully introduced to the "younger" version of the characters with the respect that we were with the older generation. At times we jumped with no reason, coupling our minds to be both confused as well as needing immediate readjustment to the situation. One moment we were in a Mercedes driving, the next we were in a doctor's bed, the following we were in a war scene. For the casual viewer, this would have been a difficult transition to follow. For me, the jumps seemed too sporadic, too forced to push the story. Unlike the book, each chapter isn't dedicated to each character, we must juggle the time, and I think Schepisi could have accomplished this task better. He picked the right actors to play younger versions of their subsequent actors, but it took some time to make sure that we, the audience, knew who we were working with. It was a struggle for this film, and it nearly - for me - took away from the phenomenal-ness of the actors.
There were other issues with this film with continuity and placement, some of which are typical in any budget of a film, but others occurred due in part to the constant change of time. It is hard to change time as often as Schepisi does without missing some details, and again, it distracted in this film. The pacing seemed lacking, I don't remember the book being as dull in some points, but I think it was because Schepisi didn't want to overload us with so much information. The scene with the actors in the Mercedes as they drive to their friend's final destination was beautifully framed, amazingly acted, but seemed extended, dull, and a bit drawn out. That, for me, best summarizes this film. Acting and vision were impressively intense, but the film seemed to slip because of structural issues.
Overall, I liked this film, but could not say that I loved it. I will stand behind "Last Orders" as a film that boasts the best acting from some of our most unique actors, but Schepisi could have done a better job behind the camera. If it weren't for the actors, this film would have drastically fallen. I am glad that our director pushed for great actors, but I think it is in part because he knew the story wasn't as strong as he wanted. This was no "Six Degrees of Separation" or "Roxanne", it stands on its own - it just isn't sturdy enough.
Grade: *** out of *****
Movie Review: Cocknies Croaking
Summary: 3 Stars
"Last Orders" is a reasonably simple plot: a guy dies, is cremated, and has his ashes scattered. Within that plot are enough twists to make your head spin. Michael Caine as Jack does a good job in a role that doesn't demand a huge emotional output. Caine delivers his usual subtle performance as he faces death and worries about leaving something to take care of his wife. Helen Mirren from Gosford Park as his wife Amy does her usually brilliant job of extracting tremendous depth, even with a meager framework from which to draw. The cockney accents were difficult for me, from the USA, to decipher. It was about 1/3 of the way through before I started picking up on them. In the meantime, there are so many flashbacks with the past characters played by different actors that it becomes hard to figure out who from the present is who in the past. Newcomer JJ Field has nice screen presence as Michael Caine's younger Jack. Kelly Reilly as the beautiful young Amy doesn't much resemble Helen Mirren other than hair color, but brought life and energy to the role. I appreciated the issues of having a mentally disabled daughter and how each parent dealt with it. Laura Morelli played June, now an adult, lost in her own world, emotionally disconnected and isolated. Bob Hoskins does a nice job of carrying a torch for Amy. His younger self is well played by Anatol Yusef who sets the brothel workers abuzz with the size of his endowments. David Hemmings, 40 years after "Blow Up" looks quite different with eyebrows wildly careening across his brow, looking like escapees from Hogwarts.
As with one other reviewer, my wife who rented the flick walked out on it. Although it's not easy at first, it is rewarding to finally connect the dots on the picture, making a satisfying evening's entertainment. Enjoy!