The Last Movie (2012) Reviews

• A page-turner of a movie

  shwadchuck-302-7145172012-02-29

  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.

• Living an oppressed life or living within the grasp of passion, what would throw you over the edge?

  newell_beattie72012-03-10

  The Last Movie grabs the audience and slowly pulls it in through its juxtapositions, its movie within a documentary within a movie, within, within, within layers of characters that are cast in light and shade and are brilliantly played off of the other to highlight what lurks in the psychological shadows until it is pulled to the surface and exposed to the light of day. This ambitious movie is like nothing I have ever seen before. It artistically explores the confines which we painstakingly live within while we also, hopefully with precision, push the boundaries to reach toward our passion. For Nastya Dmitriey (played by Nataliya Alexayenko) who lives in the old world of black and white and in the confines of a stale marriage, passion is a traditional physical seduction which she finds in the arms of Pavel Volynski (played by Robert Gulassarian). For Elizabeth Seitz (played by Elizabeth Gondek), who gets cast to play Nastya, passion is being accepted as an actress in a leading role and seduction is falling under the direction of movie director, Nick Crawley (played by Bruce Pittman), who is documenting the remake of a Russian film noir. However, when passion no longer resides in the distant and the precision of balance is not met, you never know what will rise out of the dark but in this case it results in the last movie.

• Great to see a contemporary film noir genre done so well.

  lochtaen2012-03-05

  I have always been a big fan of film noir and I was delighted to see a modern film in this genre. It is spectacularly successful in capturing the mood through dramatic lighting and innovative camera angles. It is refreshing to see a film that has a highly developed script and excellent acting when so often movie budgets seem heavily weighted to special effects. I particularly enjoyed the movie within a movie within a movie with a special twist which I won't reveal here to create a spoiler. Additionally it gives insight into the non-creative aspects of making a motion picture. This is an excellent example of a low budget movie with high production values. As I mentioned in the first paragraph each role performed is top drawer. There is a wonderful blend with a couple of new faces along with some well- established actors. The new faces I know I will be seeing again. This film gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me.

• The Last Movie Is A Mesmerizing Experience

  jameseabawden2012-12-02

  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.

• Smart,, stylish film noir for contemporary audience

  krleckie2012-03-22

  I thought it was a beautifully crafted movie, a terrific genre film. I loved the overt use of "film noir" techniques. A lovely sense of style, lighting and camera angles. I loved the homage to some of the classics. It made us all feel smart. I saw "The Artist" a few days later and they use film noir elements as the protagonist slides into depression but I think "The Last Movie" did a better job. I was totally convinced by the "Russian film" portions. It did an amazing job with locations. Nataliya Alyexeyenko's face and eyes were totally beguiling. The camera loves her. Elizabeth Gondek is not quite as compelling but she grows on you and is believable. It's very exciting when the two of them come together. My only criticism is that the film did seem long, both overall film and pacing within scenes, especially later scenes. It is not bad in the first half of the film as it establishes style but then it just feels too slow as we approach the climax. In spite of this, I think it was a brilliant effort and a very entertaining film. Congratulations to the filmmakers. Keith Ross Leckie