I am very surprised "Last Night" got a rather lukewarm user rating on IMDb. From my point of view it is a movie that is very honest, if terrible in its depiction of relationships, love and faith. There were many moments, where I expected the movie to lose its momentum, where the filmmakers could have chickened out, but that never happened. Maybe too much is talked about, when some things could have been told through pictures. Then again, I found all dialog very believable. My only criticism concerns Sam Worthington's rather wooden performance. Apart from that "Last Night" really knocked me off my feet, from the beginning right until the brilliant final scene.
Add a Review
-
deepster2430 October 2010Rather enjoyed this film at the Rome Film Festival last night. The atmosphere of New York by night and the soundtrack itself made it worth the half an hour delay getting in! The main performances are strong, Keira puts in a surprisingly convincing interpretation as the wife who meets her previous love the day her husband is out of town with a female colleague he likes. It discusses the nature of love, betrayal, marriage and sentiment in a thoughtful way, without the usual labelling of people as cheaters and victims. It should encourage us to realise that life and relationships are more complex and that ultimately, nobody really belongs to anyone (however much we might like to think we do). It's a shame these days that we only get to see the lives of the beautiful, very well-to-do folk (in their wonderful apartments, sipping on fine wine) on the big screen as if temptation within marriage was a luxury that only the wealthy and obscenely photogenic can afford. Anyway, universal themes are dealt with well and it's good fodder for a long conversation afterwards.
-
8 only because it isn't "Citizen Kane.." smaller in size, smaller in intent, but large in the scope of its attention to detail within the maze of twisted morals and confused emotions we live in: we know something is wrong, even when we are not unhappy; we just don't don't know what it is. And we certainly don't know what to do about it without tearing down the castle.... The realism of this elegant, small film with its stunning ambiance centers around the pull of the pleasures of monogamy (home, safety companionship, having someone who knows how you like your eggs to scramble some up for you in the middle of the night) versus variety, danger, and of course the one that got away.
The face that appears in your head when your fantasies kick in, unbidden, is alas not that of the egg scrambler.
Unless it is in a fleeting moment of sadness, at having had to choose between being "bad" by societal standards, and being good, stable, true. As with Joanna in the film: she was quite right to be hovering in the corner, teary -eyed, as her husband found her at the last encounter in the film, which ended beautifully - the way such terrible, secret, silent conflicts of the heart, really end. NMB P.S. Another wonderful thing about this film that is contrast with most American films of similar genre, are the actual long, thoughtful, conversations that take place between and among the characters... interesting, evocative, moving... that establish that there are usually no villains and no victims, just decent, and in this case very bright people struggling with the realization that when one person in a couple gets what he or she wants, the other may not be ready for the closing of the door. NMB -
harry_tk_yung21 March 2011I haven't used the above summary "line" for a while but must have for quite a few times in the 870 odd postings to-date. What it conjures up in my mind is a piece of intimate, self-contained, exquisite cinema that is, it wouldn't be far wrong to say, the opposite to an epic, although they can be equally pleasurable to experiences.
The montage of the opening scene deftly sets the stage. After a brief introduction of a young New York couple who are dressing (and casually chatting) for an evening out, the scene cuts back and forth between sketches of the party scene and Joanna's (Keira Knightley) pensive, reflective face in the cab on their way home. What "happened" in the party is just Joanna noticing how Michael (Sam Worthington) spends most of the evening in what appears intimate conversion with an attractive colleague Laura (Eva Mendes) whose existence she has never been aware of before, despite the fact that Michael was recently in a business trip with her. The 4-year marriage comes under a stress test when it Joanna realizes that Michael and Laura will be on another trip together in the next day, to Philadelphia (even though this is only for one night and they are accompanied by other colleagues). Then, shortly after Michael has left, Joanna bumps into Alex (Guillaume Canet), an "on-and-off" French boyfriend from Paris where they first met. They are both writers, although Joanna has so far published only one book ("a very good book", Alex keeps telling people).
The rest of the movie follows the development of these two pairs, in New York and Philadelphia respectively, cutting back and forth and often employing voice-over to precede the scenes. I have made this sound mechanical, maybe even deliberately, but there is no point trying to give a pedantic account of how mesmerizing this movie becomes. The enjoyment comes from watching it.
Maybe just a few hints, and SPOILERS. In Philadelphia, it is doubtlessly sensual, but also assiduously subtle. Don't expect torrid love scenes (although there is a brief one - love scene, thats is, but not torrid). With absolutely alluring full lips, Mendes would rather have her seductive charm ooze from a languid dialogue of her heartbreaking lost love. In New York, things are even more bittersweet, when layer after layer of hidden emotions are peeled away, revealing the depth of feeling Joanna and Alex have for each other. She ends up "in bed" with him, in the ultra-literal sense (think Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in "Lost in translation"). One film review likens their evening and night together to "Before sunrise" (1995), which is quite insightful. There's one difference though: Jesse and Celine made love, twice (as we found out in "Before sunset" (2004)), before the night was over.
It is a pleasure to see Knightley maturing into a role that she hasn't been seen in before. Worthington, after an assortment of worlds such as Earth after a nuclear holocaust, an exotic planet called Avatar and mythological Greece, in good in coming down to earth with a troubled marriage and facing temptation. Canet is such a heart-throb that had he been English, he would be the undisputed successor to Hugh Grant, and with more charm and less comedy.
The movie is intelligently open-ended, consistent with its contemplative tone.
Finally, I can't finish without pointing out how international this movie is: the four leads are, respectively, English, Australian, French and Cuban-American. Just to hear the variety of ways English is spoken is sheer fun. -
priyantha-bandara26 April 2011"Last Night" is a drama in its pure state. Wrapped around a couple who is married for 3 years, it discusses about basic pillars of marriage and its fundamental importance and effects once shattered. The couple who values loyalty and Trust yet finds themselves in situations to be disloyal lures up in lust and desires, at time becomes helpless although they are deeply in love with each other.
Joanna Reed (Keira Knightley) is the wife who is a writer and a works freelance most of the time spends her time at home. Michael Reed (Sam Worthington) is the husband who works in a construction contract company sometimes goes out of town for business purposes. They live in a decent apartment in the city and lives normal just like any other couple with small arguments and moment of love. After attending to an office party Joanna notices that her husband is spending time with a lady friend Laura who she was not aware earlier and suspects that he has something else to do with her. After a mild argument Michael leaves town for a business trip with a team which involves Laura which makes Joanna quite uncomfortable. But for her amusement while she spends the day alone she meets her x boyfriend unexpectedly and decides to go out for dinner with him. While Michael spends time Laura and finds himself to be irresistibly charmed by her, Joanna spends the night with her past love confused and feeling insecure.
This movie is not unique. Or it does not have truly dramatic turns or twist. But it flows smooth and calmly while giving the viewer ample time to think the characters and most of the time guess what their next moves will be. More than just watching a story this is about looking in to humans and the way they behave and emotions. If I say 'Last Night' is more about feelings than a story it will be quite correct. When it comes to performances I quite admire everyone in the main roles. Keira is stunning with her looks and attitude throughout and Sam plays the confused husband with skill.
Marriage comes with thick boundaries with love and trust deeply caged in it. Yet at times that strong boundary seems to be so thin and fragile when life becomes complicated and feelings are not just words. Maybe living with the guilt of not knowing the boundaries is the toughest of all.
read more at flickshout.blogspot.com -
"Last night" made me naturally think of ""Closer", where we find four people, two men and two women, among whom the law of attraction made them fall apart, more than once, to the point of being no longer able to distinguish between love and attraction. Here we still find four people, one married couple (a significant point, indeed) who flirt with the idea of cheating, one night they are separated and this single night proves highly significant for both. The attractive female cast undoubtedly makes a difference in this movie, which seems to be made in the service of Keira Knightely's and Eva Mendes's power of attraction.
Nothing new, indeed, in the theme handled: how easy it is to give in to temptation, how narrow the edge is between "to betray or not to betray". So many movies dealt with the evergreen dilemma urging inside human souls, when love, passion, attraction, are so confusedly intertwined, mainly inside marital relationship. While in "Closer" the inner dilemma was more complicated, intense, almost lacerating in its crudity, involving both men and women, who betrayed each other, restlessly, as to become even impossible for the viewer to stand, in "Last night" the director works on a lower, more superficial level, we do not find such laceration inside the characters. The only interesting point moves around what cheating really means: the husband in the end yields sexually to a woman exerting just physical attraction on him, the wife refuses to yield, but gives a passionate kiss to the other, flirts much more, gives signs of being in love with him, we know she constantly thinks of him, writes to him, without having informed her husband about that unhealthy relation: is this not cheating, what is more or less heavy, or are the both "options" equally deplorable? Certainly, in the end, I came to the conclusion that if a single night has been enough to put so many doubts and crisis, the marriage was itself probably not so solidly based (and the couple Joanna-Michael does not convey any real communion inside their marriage, since from the beginning) but the director leaves any interpretation widely open, too open I would say.
No doubt the movie sounds intriguing, seductive, in the way it is centred on seduction (and the fashionable night atmosphere of New York plays its role), and we as viewers are seduced by these stories of powerful attraction, as we are gently led through it, we like being led through, but, in the end, very little remains: too harmless, rather superficial, in the way it deliberately stands away from too significant, but inescapable, moral and psychological complications of betrayal: see the French "Partir", or the Italian "Cosa voglio di più", and see how a movie may be committed and honest when trying to represent the real consequences of betraying one's mate's trust. -
cliffromain21 August 2011Last Night is a typical movie that my girlfriend would usually enjoy on our movie date on Fridays. Romance! Another chick flick I thought. I was actually in suspense from beginning to end. What's so great about this movie is that fact that many of us could've empathized in any end of the spectrum. For a movie that took place in one day, it wasn't as obvious since each plot was meticulously thought of. In any given moment I'm expecting to guess the next scene, no cigar. What really got me is the end. The writer left us in suspense. Okay are you going to say something about the purple stilettos? I hope there's a part two. This definitely a couples movie. This movie definitely deserve a better rating than what's given.
-
jotix1005 December 2012An attractive young couple in Manhattan is preparing for a party at a business acquaintance of the husband's. Joanna senses an attraction Michael seems to have for a gorgeous co-worker. As they return home, a full confrontation ensues. Joanna feels Michel must have had a fling with Laura the last time both traveled to the West Coast for a business presentation, something he vehemently denies. Joanna gives him the benefit of the doubt as they eventually make up. In a way, Joanna compounds on the problem for whatever Michael has felt for Laura.
Massy Tadjedin, the talented director of "Last Night", obviously knows the people she is presenting in this intimate tale about human relations at a crucial moment in their young lives,. To complicate the situation, Alex, the former French lover of Joanna shows suddenly on the scene. Michael, out of town with a team that includes Laura, suddenly feels the loss of self-control. Joanna, suddenly, finds herself falling in the same situation she accused Michael of doing. Obviously, her love for Alex is still alive.
Ms. Tadjedin clearly understand what make these somewhat successful people become trapped in the situations they get involved in our modern times, where loyalty to one's married partner is taken for granted in our permissive society, where satisfaction to one's senses is dealt lightly, not taking in consideration of the hurt is causing on the other one.
An inspired casting of Keira Knightly is one of the reasons for watching this film. Ms. Knightly is at a good moment in her career. Her intelligent approach to her Joanna resonates with the viewer. Same could be said of the Michael of Sam Worthington, a handsome and virile presence in the movie. Michael has lots of doubts, feeling guilty in the step he is going to take. Guillaume Canet, the talented French actor-director, seems to be a bit uncomfortable with his Alex. Gorgeous Eva Mendes, not usually seen in dramatic roles, is a revelation as Laura.
Peter Deming, the director of photography, catches the somber night lights of the Manhattan where the story is set. Clint Mansell music scores creates a layer of texture in the film. One can only hope for future ventures of Massi Tadjedin. -
OK, what is going on please? Here is an excellent, skilfully crafted, intelligently paced and well structured movie with a most complimentary screenplay, and it should of course be rated at 8.x out of 10. Yet, as I write it is barely rated above average. Sorry, but I have to knock myself on the head a couple of times just to check that I am now indeed only seeing 6.7 out of ten for a most excellent relationship themed movie.
I am not at all sure what is wrong with most people who've rated this movie "a notch above so so", save for the usual obvious problems when it comes to matters of 'most people'... Nonetheless, I am reminded that most people often get it right: Matchpoint was correctly rated, Two Lovers was fairly rated, Before Sunrise also got the high rating it so deserved. However, here is a movie which is every bit as excellent as those named movies, albeit being in its own inimitable way different, yet it is still currently (Spring 2011) faced with the travesty of being so unjustly under-appreciated.
Please watch this movie if the themes of modern relationships, loyalty, trust, and betrayal are of any interest to you, and you should find, as I did, that its insanely 'above average rating' is well short of the mark. For this movie is a near masterpiece as a study of such themes. The performances of the lead actors/actresses, its screenplay, direction, score, production are all first rate. Don't miss this movie if you've a brain in your head, and if themes concerning relationships are of any interest to you at all. I also rated Matchpoint, Before Sunrise, & Two Lovers very highly, in case you're wondering if my word is worth following. Then you should also find it to be worth a far more realistic 9/10 -
itsmecitra19 March 2012My favorite part of this movie is the dialog. Although this movie contains long dialog, however the dialog is very interesting. Many movie with long dialog but Last Night is the best. Not a boring dialog. Especially when Joanna and Michael had a fight after party, about Joanna accusing Michael like Eva Mendez's character. Another great long dialog is when Alex and Joanna was sitting in the sofa and drinking Martini. Through the dialog, audience know about their life story. So audience isn't confused.
Great choice of the character. Keira and Michael make a good pair.
One of my favorite movie to watch over and over again -
saadgkhan25 August 2011LAST NIGHT - CATCH IT ( B- )
Last Night is not a typical movie, its Artistic and sexy (more like a theater movie) about emotional intimate infidelity. Its shows how infidelity doesn't have to be physical. Sometime people commit infidelity by involving emotionally with the other person. Keira Knightley is stunning & delight to watch as always. And best thing about Last Night is we get to see her in modern setup, otherwise 90% she appeared in period movies. The cast is good but I've hard time accepting Sam Worthington as leading actor, I think he lacks the charisma & always be a Blue Avatar. This actor is really dry doesn't offer much besides stern face. Guillaume Canet Aka. Mr. Marion Cotilard is charming, it is my first time of watching him in any movie. Eva Mendes is smooth and sexy.
Last Night is an engaging movie with interesting ending, which definitely worth a watch, if you are in mode of some thing emotional. -
wiedzmapokladowa26 April 2011It's rare when a film's rating actually starts to climb the more people get to see it, so I'm really happy because Last Night totally deserves it.
A lot has been already discussed in other reviews, let me comment on things which haven't been covered yet.
*** Possible spoilers ***
Apart from main themes of the film: "Which is worse - physical or emotional unfaithfulness?", "Can suspicion give rise to infidelity?" and "What do we regret more, doing something or blowing the only chance and not doing it?", I love the way Massy shows the irony of getting what one wants. Or rather the way it happens in real life: when we get it, it's not quite exactly WHAT we wanted and usually not WHEN we wanted it. Joanna is the perfect example of that. She wants Michael to love her, spend more time with her, and to be his sole object of attraction. When he realizes how much she means for him at the end, and he himself wants to give Jo what she wanted, she couldn't care less... now she's all about Alex. She gets exactly what she wanted but too late.
And then there is this theme of temptation and how people are fighting it. Massy Tadjedin shows all the hypocrisy of this notion. Temptation is not something awful that people FIGHT, it's something pleasurable that they actively SEEK. Very often anticipation of a deed is more gratifying that the deed itself. This is what temptation is. It's almost like foreplay. People love toying with an IDEA, playing all possible scenarios in their mind, modifying it, perfecting it. And at the same time they have this conceited view of themselves as being noble because they are "resisting" the ACT. But the truth is that if temptation really was something horrible that we have to fight with all our might, we would do all we could to avoid putting ourselves in such position. Joanna would never go out with Alex, Michael would never end up in this pool with Laura. They did that not because they saw that as a challenge and wanted to examine the strength of their character, but because they wanted it, because it was (almost) as good as fulfilling their fantasies.
Finally Joanna and Alex are writers, and as such are used to living in the world of heightened emotions. Drama is their air. They are both aware, maybe her more than him, that fulfillment quenches the urge, while longing is more powerful and eternal than desire. What seems like an almost unbearable sacrifice on her part, in fact may be her way NOT to give up this love.
***Spoilers end***
Acting is fantastic from everyone.
I am Joanna in real life, and I didn't sense a single false note in Keira's performance. It's heartbreaking because it's so true.
I've never been the greatest fan of Eva Mendes but she won me over in her last scenes.
The only character of the four I've never been is Alex, but Guillame Canet – if not exactly helped me understand his behavior – at least made me feel sympathetic to him.
Finally Sam Worthington was tasked with probably the hardest and most ungrateful job. Firstly, his Michael, unlike Alex, is not the kind of man women fantasize about, but the kind they end up marrying. If Alex is caviar, Michael is bread –the unexciting, taken for granted one, but one who's essential, who provides safety and stability for neurotic Joanna. That this unpretty, almost starchy affair probably constitutes the most exciting thing that has happened in his life of late, borders on poignant. On top of that, the two couples move to the steps of a different dance. While Joanna/Alex let their bodies speak with more and more broad gestures through the night, with Michael/Laura it becomes much more vital what they do NOT do or say. Once they both know exactly where they are, each step becomes like walking a minefield - one word or gesture too many from him, and Laura may mistake it for a sign of his readiness to go where he still hasn't decided whether to go or not. So as the film unfolds, the plot requires this quiet and uncomplicated guy to go progressively more restrained and subdued. And still, constrained by these tight borders of the character, Worthington manages to give his Michael subtle variety: at the opening party Michael has this adorable innocence of an attractive guy who's completely oblivious that he is; he is the real, most earnest self in the moments of intimacy with his wife; and finally when Laura makes her intentions clear he becomes self-conscious, visibly uneasy and unaccustomed to being the one who's appreciated and admired for once. I feel pity for him that this really solid performance doesn't seem to resonate with critics, but at the same time I'm grateful that he chose truthfulness over the urge to show off as an actor.
Special mention - one doesn't get more charming than Griffin Dunne. His Truman stole every scene he was in!
One last word about writing.
Massy Tadjedin directed the film based on her own script, and I thought that she would be very "protective" of every line. I had a chance to read it and I still vividly remember the first 20 pages or so because what the characters say there are verbatim the conversations I once had, same words, just a different language. But in the film, almost all of it is gone. It's incredible because the feeling is the same, but instead of dialog it's all done with gestures. And this is what makes it so much more gratifying - we're given the chance to watch, decipher the subtleties of body language, recognize the patterns we know from our life. Fantastic!
I'm really looking forward to her next film. -
solojere27 August 2021I guess I am in the minority here, but I didn't like this movie. I love Keira Knightly, and Sam Worthington is a great actor, but they just simply weren't given enough to work with. The film follows them as a married couple, who a night apart are both presented with the temptation to cheat on each other. The film moves along at a snail's pace, but it never really gives us a reason to be motivated in this story or why we should root for this couple to be faithful other than because it is the right thing to do. It was also painfully obvious how the film would turn out. I was hoping to be wrong, but sadly I wasn't. But more than that, I just never really felt emotionally invested in this film or its characters despite a great cast.
-
cosmo_tiger27 July 2011"What I wouldn't give to have tired of you." After a party makes her feel uneasy Joanna (Knightley) thinks that her husband Michael (Worthington) is cheating on her. The next day he leaves on a business trip, with the women (Eva Mendes). The same day Joanna runs into her past love and spends time with him. Both are tempted to do what they shouldn't. This is a movie that you have to let form. The first half hour or so is a little slow, but then it really starts to take shape and the ending will leave you wanting more. Being a man, this is not usually the type of movie that I enjoy, but I really did like this one. I would call this a more subdued version of "Closer", much less overt sex and much more subtle love. Much like "Closer" you are pulled back and forth between who you like and who you don't. Who is right and who is wrong. Who you want to root for, and who you shouldn't. Either way this is a very emotionally powerful movie that will leave you wishing there was more. Overall, I surprisingly liked this movie a lot. This is a very emotional movie that will leave you thinking. That's a good thing. I give it a B+.
Would I watch again? - I actually think I might. -
Author Joanna (Keira Knightley) and her husband, Michael (Sam Worthington) have reached the point in their marriage which might be called a valley. Yes, they love each other but aren't connecting very well. Michael, who often travels on business, attends a company party with Joanna. It is there that Joanna spies a co-worker, Laura (Eva Mendes) who is strikingly beautiful. To complicate things more, Joanna learns she is often sent on biz trips as an adjunct to Michael. Also, something in her gazes at Michael spell trouble. As one might guess, green eyes of jealousy take hold. Once at home, Joanna tries to berate Michael for never telling her about this woman. He shrugs it off and swears he is not the cheating kind. But, essentially, Joanna is correct, for Michael does harbor some lust for Laura and visa versa. Meanwhile, a couple of days later, Joanna runs into an old flame herself. He is Alex (Guillaume Canet), a French writer who once captured her complete attention for a very brief spell. Alas, he broke it off and Joanna was stricken but changed directions, thinking it was over. Now, Alex makes romantic gestures toward Joanna and she is torn. Wasn't it just a matter of hours ago that she suspected Michael of some emotional betrayal? What will happen to these four folks? This very observant, interesting but quiet film explores infidelity between two seemingly committed marriage partners. What does it take for thoughts of adultery to start and grow stronger? Does it mean that the love between the wedded ones doesn't exist or is it just a case of physical attraction? This movie tries to answer these queries. The cast is great, for surely Knightly is one fine actress who also has the face of Helen of Troy. Mendes, too, is a sultry stunner while Worthington and the Patrick Dempsey-twin Canet are attractive, talented men as well. The scenery in and around SoHo is nice while costumes, photography, screenplay and a careful, non-traditional direction, at times, completes this winning flick. Last night has already passed, of course, but find this one for a future night very soon.
-
napierslogs17 June 2011Choices of temptation sneak their way into old loves, new loves and current loves. "Last Night" is a relationship drama where one night opens up questions and possibilities of infidelity for one married couple. The couple is Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington) and they are certainly beautiful and eye-catching but their relationship is not as well-defined as I think it should have been.
It follows a very simplistic storyline and it tests not only the main couple's loyalty to each other but also our loyalty to them as at least one of the temptations they face is far more interesting than either of them. I have fallen in love with French actor Guillaume Canet as the ex-boyfriend Alex. Looks aside, he was the only one who had any depth to make him more appealing. While some of the other casting, like Eva Mendes as the other woman, just seemed lazy.
I don't fault "Last Night" for picking a story that has been done before as they did try showing it in their own way. It was a beautifully realized film, performed well, and engaging enough, but it was just missing something. I think I liked it, but I needed more substance, more intrigue, and more of a resolution. -
mohmohi200914 October 2018In fact half way through the movie I started to feel what I usually feel whilst I watch Asghar Farhadi's movies. it may be due to the fact that Massy Tadjedini (The director) is another Iranian director. I think it might be the hardship that a country is going through that provide us with such a deep view on a simple fraction of life. Iranian cinema along with Polish cinema are good tokens for this claim.
-
ghina-k-kameh22 June 2014The movie has been out for four years, and I am thankful I have only watched it today. Back then I would be sad for such an ending expecting a happily ever after for Alex and Jo. But today thinking about it, the movie reflected realities that most are unwilling to acknowledge. And that is indeed the beauty of the movie. Regardless of the simple plot, the movie has kept me interested from beginning to end. The topic, even though discussed in several movies, was interpreted in a classy and thorough way. The reason i gave it a seven is mainly the lack of chemistry between Michael and Laura which led me to wishing that the focus of the movie was Alex and Jo's story only.
-
Kimmmmi26 April 2011Saw this movie at the Tribeca Film Festival and can say that I was truly taken aback by the brilliance of such a simple concept. The movie about a married couple amid marital temptation is very well acted and directed. The film captures the vibe of the Tribeca lifestyle and the trials of a young marriage. Sam Worthington does an amazing job as the reserved husband in love with his wife. The film is well-paced and builds to a crescendo of will they or wont they infidelities. Visually the movie is simple but the effects of overlapping pictures and conversations highlights the similarities of temptation and the differences between men and women. The story was truly amazing and the best movie I have seen in 2011.
-
pc9523 October 2013So, director and writer Massy Tadjedin in her movie, "Last Night", may be aiming to peek into the world of cheating maybe objectively. And her dialog is sometimes colorful, and rich in detail. She's created an interesting environment that in some scenes succeeds with building tension such as Knightley's character out on a "double-date" type dinner - maybe the best scene in the movie (with Griffin Dunne stealing the dialog in sage-like zen). Dunne's character seems to be the voice of the writer, perhaps, as he cautions his French friend about breaking marriages. However other times the writing and dialog bores with many of the scenes of Worthington and Mendes - with little attraction or chemistry seeming to register. Their infidelity is not as well developed or explained as Knightly's, perhapson purpose. I liked the movie on the whole. (spoiler) The ending is left nicely hanging, although anyone watching will know where it's headed. A decent watch (6.5/10)
-
SnoopyStyle30 October 2016Joanna (Keira Knightley) is a writer married to commercial real estate agent Michael Reed (Sam Worthington). She meets his co-worker Laura Nunez (Eva Mendes) at a party and suspects they had an affair during their L.A. business trip. He leaves for Philadelphia with Laura while she encounters her ex Alex Mann (Guillaume Canet). Sandra (Stephanie Romanov) and Truman (Griffin Dunne) are his friends.
Sam Worthington is not a compelling actor to me. I never bought a ticket on the Worthington express. I don't find any buy-in with his relationship with Knightley. I'm not invested in them and their struggles hold no tension. It's a lot of talk. It teases a reckoning but it never delivers. It's a truncated movie about a relationship that I'm not sure I care about in the first place. -
gradyharp23 April 2011LAST NIGHT is a tightly woven tale that explores the psyches of four people in one fascinating evening. This is the initial directing outing for Iranian-American writer Massy Tadjedin ('The Jacket', 'Leo') who also created the story and the script: the film is so fine that we doubtless will be hearing more about her.
Joanna Reed (Keira Knightley) is a beautiful young writer married to commercial real estate developer Michael Reed (Sam Worthington) in what appears to be a happy marriage despite the struggle between two careers. Michael takes Joanna to a company party and there she observes the soft spoken Michael paying attention to one of his co-workers, the sensuous Laura (Eva Mendes), an act that Joanna feels indicates unfaithfulness or at least suspicious behavior on Michael's part. The seed of doubt is planted, Michael is leaving for a business trip to Philadelphia the next morning with his coworkers Andy (Anson Mount) and Laura, and there is friction between Joanna and Michael that Michael's reassurance cannot overcome. The next day as Joanna sops for coffee she encounters an old flame from her time spent writing in Paris - Alex Mann (Guillaume Cadet) - and they agree to meet that evening. Chemistry resurges and that evening as Alex and Joanna dine with Alex's publisher Truman (Griffin Dunne), both are questioned by Truman about their past affair, Joanna admits she is now married, and Alex is in a relationship in Paris. The couple leaves and circumstances lead them to return to Joanna's apartment where they face their feelings. At the same time as this evening is developing Michael and Laura enter a seduction dance: Michael is faithful to Joanna but the emotionally bruised Laura persists in her attempt to pull Michael into her web. The manner in which each of these temptations resolves and the aftermath is the brilliance of Massy's writing and direction: this is a story written very much form a women's vantage and that fact allows each of the characters to become very well defined and credible.
The quartet of actors is well matched: Knightley continues to mature as a fine actress, Sam Worthington breaks out of his stodgy shell to allow us to see a man driven by fidelity and tempted by lust, Eva Mendes takes Laura to a higher dimension of being, and Guillaume Cadet is undeniably an Alex who few women could resist: he has true star power. The method of pairing the development of the one night by flashing back and forth between the progress of the two couples in the dance of seduction vs fidelity is extremely successful. This is a thinking person's movie and an introduction of a writer/director who already has shaped the beginnings of a successful career. Highly Recommended.
Grady Harp -
impactplayas024 March 2011this was a decent movie about a topic that probably isn't talked about enough between couples......I enjoyed the acting and such, but I've seen this movie done better in Stanley Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut .... a very powerful movie about the same issues in this one.....it seems like they even kind of use one of the scenes from Eyes Wide Shut ... when Nicole Kidmans character tries to pick a fight with Tom Cruise.... same thing here but to a lesser extent, and less extreme (Kiera picks a fight with Sam Worthington). Its still a good movie... i enjoyed it a lot. Of course there are diffences between the two movies.... but the topic remains the same
-
bt698nhj1 April 2018Leaving the ending to the imagination of the audience is LAZY. If I wanted to use my imagination, I'd imagine a better movie than this. Write an ending. #terrible
-
sandover11 May 2011Luxurious settings, a frigid urban scenery, the periphery of professional assignations, and an immoderate presentation of liquor among other paratactic devices offer us a leisurely approach woven with thoughtful even if sometimes almost ill-timed reflections on matters that matter and are confounded when people in amorous affairs meet and do not meet sentiments collapsed into trust and the question of lust.
This is a movie that works also as a muted - if there was ever one - vehicle for Knightley: she occupies a lot of takes that signal, if not signify, something of her uneasy beauty (notice how uneasy she is when she laughs, otherwise that may pass for a frivolous approach to her role, but, though this is admittedly far-fetched, she reminded me of Shakespeare's Cleopatra who "can play herself, rather than be herself", in a critic's words, and we may mistake her frivolous uneasiness, as it appears here and there, to call it that, so in the end we may take it for a less than marvelous performance: she - though confounded - maintains her enigma, as the last shot exemplifies).
Of course she needs Worthington's worthy performance (to continue in the Shakespeherian vein, he would give a perfect fallen Anthony I think; his excursion into the Australian Macbeth and then into his two war-movie roles, to call them that, as Everyman, contrasted with the rough-hewn and vulnerable performance - have we witnessed such a boyish abandon, only to resume justly right afterwards, the morning after he consummates his night with his new female colleague, in the pillow-scene? - makes him an under-appreciated actor).
There may be some oddities of time-and-dialogue coordination, if they are that, that seem to prolong the effect of amorous misgivings' impact between two, or the quartet of people involved. But even if the writer-and-director of this film is a new-comer, so that we may detect flaws, the earnestness of editing is just in giving us the confused feeling if what we witness is a remembrance or a (failed) repetition, as that scene in the elevator between Canet and Knightley lingeringly portrays. This may pass for affectation, repression in its handling, but it is the right amount of what we have to witness, of what we have to be shown - is it our own?- the economy of failed, enacted pathos.
There are so many details to be appreciated, appreciated, that is, in its almost 19th century sense of the word: Mendes' straightforward retraction from her "night" that may characterize her as calculating - but that would mistake her sorrow, Knightley's trembling lips in a fractioned close-up towards the end, Canet's friend's supporting role (though one may wish his companion's more active participation), the quasi-80's sense of romance (watch that emblematic New York dawn), how Worthington's and Knightley's accents accentuate an immigrant sense of class-numb, quasi-repressed privilege.
I wonder if one could say this film is not about rehearsing luxury and how this is crossed with feelings, even though it may partake of luxury itself; but this does not wound aesthetically the film, I think. I like the phrase of the late psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, "to talk is to sex", sex in the sense of sexual position, where one talks from, not the act itself, that is the way, say, Bergman exemplifies it in "Persona", in that scene where narration is - and does not substitute - sex; that is part of collapsing doubt (into) trust and lust. It's what Knightley admits, saying goodbye to Canet, "What I wouldn't give to have tired of you".
But our luxury is never a luxury out of time. Comparisons are made with "Eyes Wide Shut". But where Kidman, the woman, says directly the couple should have sex, Knightley is in the brink of talking. No one guarantees she is going to talk about last night, and that is an act of love, coming from the film.