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Rating:  -
An unassuming and unpretentious British movie about beer drinking mates who set on the last journey bringing one of their own to his last resting place. That deceased mate came in the form of Michael Caine. As the son of the deceased (or was he?) played splendidly by Ray Winstone, he drove all of them to the seaside called Margate but not before he took a few detour to various locations that stirred up "ghosts" of the past. The movie came in the reminiscence format and as a good slow movie would gradually unfolded itself, it left us with clues which got audience begging for more. In the end, the little clues became the total sum of the movie. It seemed that amid the peace and tranquility on the surface, there always seemed to be some "dirty laundry" or secrets that probably should remain as they were. As best of mates, whilst some saw what they didn't mean to see, they were non-judgmental and took their friends as who they were. A movie that would linger in your mind after you watched it and a movie that would have you reflected upon your relationships with your friends and family members. Quite poignant but a fair reflection of reality. Highly recommended. No extra features in DVD other than subtitles selections
Rating:  -
This is a chamber work picture. There are not great stages and sumptuous locations, but it obeys a final request of a beloved friend; a leader between his friends and his intimate circle. All of we are in doubt with him because somehow he contributed to make them see the other side of the life, he shared with them triumphs and defeats; laughs and tears. We will watch countless ellipsis in different stages of his life: From the happy memories with his wife: the lovely Helen Mirren, his war stage in which he knew one of his more estimate friends, the birth of June and then the other birth conceived while he was in The War Front. But the love he had for his wife overcame the jealous to this last stage: the painful sickness and the last favor. To take his ashes to his beloved dock. All through the journey we can not forget two closed films around the friendship: An Italian film directed by Mario Monicelli named My friends and other Italian picture directed by Ettore Scola "Cerovamo tanto amati" ( We loved so much).
Anyway, a happy acknowledgement for Shepisi who directed this film with arresting inspiration. Canterbury Cathedral is true post card and a feast for your eyes.
Overwhelimg cast. Hopkins, Caine, Mirren and Couternay shine over the rest.
Rating: -
LAST ORDERS is the story of one man's life as told through the lives and stories of those who knew him best. The cast in this film is absolutely terrific and the cinematography is gorgeous. The lighting alone makes LAST ORDERS pleasing to look at. Had I judged LAST ORDERS by the first hour, however, I would have been sadly disappointed. The film takes quite a long time to get going, but once it does, it becomes something rather touching and memorable.
The plotline is one that will be familiar to most audiences. Four gentlemen are brought together to carry out their friend's (Michael Caine) dying wish: to have his ashes scattered off the Margate Pier into the ocean. The first hour of the film is a bit disorienting, as the audience has not a clue who these characters are. But little by little, we begin to piece together the seemingly dead and anaesthetized present by examining the rich and vibrant past (aided by drastic color and lighting changes). Inevitably, these old friends begin taking side trips, delaying their task more and more. The time provides them not only a moment to reflect on their lost friend, but also on their lives, lives that have gone by so quickly with much left unsaid. In fact, one of their detours is to visit Canterbury, rendering the end of the film into a bit of a pilgrimage of its own.
As LAST ORDER continues on into its second hour, the emotional impact of the film heightens and several of the scenes are rather heart-wrenching. This is not the story of a perfect man gone before his time. It is the story about an ordinary man and those who loved him, their faults, their desires, and their collective journey along a small road in life. I highly recommend it for a rainy, Sunday afternoon.
Rating: -
Three friends who have known Jack Dodds, a butcher, for almost fifty years, along with Jack's son Vince, meet at their local South London pub carrying a box containing Jack's ashes. Jack (Michael Caine) has died of heart failure, leaving a last request--that his ashes be cast off the Margate pier, several hours to the south of London. Ray (Bob Hoskins), a gambler; Vic (Tom Courtenay), an undertaker; Lenny (David Hemmings), a former prizefighter and heavy drinker; and Vince (Ray Winstone), Jack's son, a car dealer, set off for Margate in a Mercedes Benz that Vince has borrowed to honor the occasion.
As the men drive south, they reminisce about Jack, joke around, sing songs, irritate each other, and even threaten each other in the emotion of the moment. Director Fred Schepesi, who adapted the screenplay from the Booker Prize-winning novel by Graham Swift, alternates present scenes from the car with ironic scenes from Jack's life in the past, contrasting the deadness of the present trip to Margate with the liveliness of the past, showing the relationships among the various characters. Jack's wife Amy (Helen Mirren) has chosen not to come with them for the "ceremony." She is making her weekly visit to their mentally handicapped daughter June, now fifty, whom Jack has never accepted.
The nature of each man's relationship with Jack, with spouses and children, and with each other during World War II and after are all presented in flashback--from Vince's affair with Lenny's daughter, to Ray's relationship with Amy, and Jack's last minute bet with Ray to pay off a debt. As the men's relationships evolve onscreen, the viewer recognizes that these are the kinds of relationships that ordinary men spend their lives developing. The viewer comes to know not only Jack, but also the four men in the car heading south to scatter his ashes, and on a larger, universal scale, other men who have shared long friendships, jokes, and common experiences .
It is a tribute to the cinematography (Brian Trufano) that I didn't really notice it until the film was over--so apropos to the action and thematic development that it never called attention to itself. The original music (Paul Grabowsky) sets the scene at the beginning of the film but does not intrude on the character development or the interior action thoughout the film. The sensational cast in this wonderful ensemble drama, the sensitive directing, the fully developed themes, and the overwhelming feeling that these characters and situations are real make this one of the best films I've seen in ages. Mary Whipple
Rating: -
Not only is the film bittersweet, but so is the watching of it for me. I've derived so much pleasure over the years from several of this excellent cast in superior films. Back to the early 1970s when Helen Mirren was a sassy girl in "O Lucky Man," and later when she and Bob Hoskins were perfectly matched in "The Long Good Friday." Hoskins went on to other sterling work in "The Dunera Boys" and "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearn," and Mirren to fame and excellence in such as "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover."
Way back, I go, with Tom Courtenay in "Billy Liar," and through to his stunning and heartbreaking performance in "The Dresser." Michael Caine in so many things, of course, not the least of which was "Educating Rita." This is a good film, filled with pathos and tenderness. Thank goodness it is good enough to deserve a cast of this caliber. I hope it stimulates viewers to revisit some of their even greater works, as well as to make "Last Orders" part of their collections.
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