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The Last Word Dir: Geoffrey Haley Starring: Wes Bentley, Winona Ryder, Ray Romano The story of a reclusive writer/poet living in L.A., who writes suicides notes for people. While attending a the burial of a client, he meets the deceased sister (Ryder) and strikes up an off-beat relationship. Something about this movie, the meditative pace despite it's brevity, the cool and reflective poise of the main character Evan (Bentley), it conspires to make for a truly reflective dialogue on self destruction and societies grip on life. It is heavy on awkward moments - though they feel very genuine - and one-turn-too-many eccentricities of the main character, particularly with struggled literary quotation, but it makes for the contrast between the awkward Bentley and the flyaway breezy Ryder to show real chemistry on screen. Ray Romano plays a supporting role, and some much needed comedy relief between the denser segments. As a meditation on self destruction, on the solitary life and a slice of life for what loneliness truly feels like, this is a fantastic piece. Industrially speaking, this film did not get any exposure at all. I keep my ear to the ground on new indies, especially from new directors, and i didn't hear anything about this in 07/08 when it was being shot. Despite that, it has two very recognizable faces and a tremendous lead with Bentley, who is someone some people might recognize(actor revealed: Camera pot kid from American Beauty! Yeah, once you know, it's obvious, but i had to cheat and look him up. This is an excellent work, the cinematography is great, it has a surprisingly refreshing soundtrack that (while sounding very modestly low budget) nicely compliments the mood and pace. plot revealed: The last 10 minutes are some of the saddest genuine drama i've seen recently (talking Bruce Willis at the end of Armageddon sad). That siad, the final scene of the movie is _Fantastic_. True art for art's sake. pros: I don't know if i can pay it high enough praise for what it was. cons: One very poorly shot scene that stuck out like a sore thumb (beginning, roof, turns on lamp, /facepalm ), and some of the quotations were a little out of place, but it's just a feeling i got. Overall: 4.5/5 Its on netflix watch instantly, fyi.
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Jan 14, 2010 06:14
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 09:30 |
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