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Movie Review: “Last Night” Disappoints

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  • July 10, 2011

  • 4 mins to read

Movie Review: Last Night

Starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Guillame Canet

Written and Directed by Massy Tadjedin

Running time: 94 minutes

Rating: ★★★★★

Last Night is the basic tale of a married couple faced with the age-old problem of fidelity, trust and love. Married for three years, although together for seven, Joanna and Michael Reed (Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington) must face whether to remain faithful when confronted with the opportunity to stray. Seemingly, they are the perfect couple, residing in a fancy Manhattan loft, and living the good life with successful careers. But when Joanna catches the glances between Michael and Laura (Eva Mendes), his co-worker, red flags go up and Joanna begins to wonder about the business trips Michael and Laura have taken together.

Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Alex (Guillame Canet) enjoying themselves at a friend's party

A fight between them later ensues where Joanna goes wild for reasons that are beyond me. But they put the disagreement to rest—after Joanna spends the night on the sofa—only to be faced with challenges the very next day. The dialogue in this argument makes it obvious writer-director Massy Tadjedin has travelled this road herself with how she portrays the nuances between the battling couple.

After Michael leaves on yet another business trip with Laura, Joanna meets up with a former Parisian lover, Alex (Guillame Canet) and they spend the day and night catching up with each other. And here’s where things get sticky. Beautifully cutting back and forth between New York and Philadelphia (where Michael and Laura are), we see Joanna and Michael struggling with whether to take the next step in these precarious relationships.

Unfortunately, for me (and my husband who accompanied me to the viewing), the story moves too slowly, arriving at a conclusion that poses no judgments. Joanna and Michael’s marriage isn’t depicted as a particularly loving one so I don’t feel any compassion for their mutual, albeit separate, dilemmas. I feel no connection to anyone in the movie actually, save Alex, whom I empathize with for his predicament and whose real feelings for Joanna come through loud and clear.

Last Night is more of a thinking man’s movie. Still, it goes nowhere and lacks in many aspects. For a movie based on sex, seduction and infidelity, there are few sexual scenes. And even those are mediocre and uneventful. I expected more.

There are, however, some redeeming qualities I should mention. The casting of Knightley as the wife and Mendes as Michael’s co-worker/seductress is brilliant. Both are beautiful women, but in oh so different ways. I wonder whether the lack of curves on Knightley’s body (she really should gain some weight) was expressly chosen as the polar opposite to the delicious voluptuousness of Mendes’ figure. The use of objects in place of actual dialogue is inspired. For example, the difference in the lingerie Joanna wears as a wife — plain white cotton— and as a woman with sexual intentions in mind — think Victoria’s Secret sexy — is brilliantly contrived. It’s the perfect visual for understanding what is going on in Joanna’s mind. Having Laura wear a slip during the pool scene, however, annoyed my husband, and seemed out of place to me. Especially in this day and age when nudity abounds. It is obvious from the beginning Laura wants to bed Michael so putting her in a slip to go swimming in the hotel pool doesn’t ring true. She could, at the very least, have been shown in the sexy lingerie I’m sure she was wearing if Ms. Tadjedin didn’t want to go the nude route. What is the point of not showing off the seductress in all her beautiful glory?

All in all, Last Night disappoints. That’s not to say you won’t enjoy the movie should you choose to watch it. I’m just saying it’s not worth the $15-20 you’ll spend on theater tickets. Wait for the DVD. As a jumping off point to discuss marriage and fidelity at a dinner party following the movie, it succeeds. As a movie with entertainment value, it falls flat. At least for me.

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!