Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Last Night

I was personally surprised with Massy Tadjedin's Last Night. From what I saw the plot was, I thought it would be something along the lines of melodramatic. Instead, it's a mature perspective on relationships.

Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington star as Joanna and Michael, a couple whose marriage lies somewhere between happy and troubled. When Michael is out of town for business, both of them try to resist temptation in the form of his co-worker Laura (Eva Mendes) and her former boyfriend Alex (Guillaume Canet).

I will admit I'm not too fond of Knightley and I thought nothing much of Worthington. Once I saw them in Last Night, my opinion on them altered a bit. Both are very natural in their roles, not going over the top at any point in the film. I particularly liked the look on Michael's face when he's with Laura, trying so hard not to succumb to temptation.

Like Knightley and Worthington, Mendes and Canet are very natural in their roles. Mendes has previously been in a number of movies where she's a temptress, but that's not the case with Last Night. Laura is friendly with Michael, but she never tries to make a move. Same with Alex towards Joanna.

Last Night plays every note on a simple level, something not exactly for everyone. Knightley, Worthington, Mendes and Canet are great in their roles. Not one scene feels out of place, which is always a good thing.

My Rating: *****

4 comments:

  1. I recently watched Last Night with my boyfriend and we enjoyed it because it was very realistic! Especially the scene in the beginning when they are in the kitchen and Knightley confronts him about his colleague (Mendes).
    I agree with your review 100%.

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  2. I saw it almost a year ago and I really liked it. These types of movies, the character-driven ones, are amongst my favorite to watch.

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  3. Something must be in the air, I just reviewed this one too! I enjoyed it for all the reasons you mentioned, especially the fact that there's not a single extraneous scene. It's a very clean movie, which is something you don't get a lot these days. Great review!

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  4. Excellent review, and I couldn't agree more with you. This movie, much to my surprise, just did it for me. You're right, nothing feels remotely out of place.

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