THE LAST KISS
starring: zach braff, jacinda barrett, rachel bilson...
director: tony goldwyn
writer: paul haggis, gabriele muccino (source material)
date: 09/19/06
reviewer: Suj
rating: 8.6
The Last Kiss is an honest look into what a relationship is all about. It’s never easy, the answers are not always there, and relationships are often always a tough business. Don’t go into this movie thinking it’s going to be one of those happy-go-lucky date movies, because its not and while watching it you’ll come to know how heavy the material actually gets. I was lucky enough to have seen this films original source material, L'ultimo bacio, a 2001 Italian film, which I might add is a wonderful movie in it of itself. The Last Kiss is essentially made up of its source material, remade with young Hollywood standing present, though there is one fundamental difference and its in that instance that sets it apart and perhaps even surpasses its originator.
The movie begins as an ensemble piece about a handful of long-time friends turning 30, all in various stages of their respective relationships. Chris is married with a child, though he is hopelessly miserable. Kenny is single and does not want to grow up and possess a very active sex life. Izzy has just broken up with his long time girlfriend while his father is nearing the brink of death. And finally we have our protagonist, Michael, played by Zach Braff who is engaged to the beautiful Jenna played wonderfully by Jacinda Barrett, who is several months pregnant. To everyone their relationship appears to the happiest of its kind, with a promising future together. But at a mutual friends wedding, Michael engages in a light flirtation with college girl Kim played by sexpot Rachel Bilson, and as the film progress this flirtation turns into bad decisions.
Zach Braff is marvelous in this film. His character isn’t someone who is always looking to see what lies on the road less traveled. He's a man very much afraid that he can clearly see how the rest of his life will turn out. With a baby on the way, his path seems laid out before him, and it terrifies him. The agonizing he goes through is all on his face and in his actions, it feels real. It’s an honest performance of a man sorting through life, wanting change, but too wanting everything to stay the same. This kid has got some talent.
Really, all the performances are quite good here. Though perhaps, the standouts are that of Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner who play the parents of Jacinda Barrett’s character who have been married for 30-plus years. Wilkinson plays a man who doesn’t often wear his emotions on his sleeve, where Danner just wants him to show an emotion. She tries to evoke emotion by exploding at him, making him feel guilty or jealous, though you can see these games have an effect on him, but he’s always internalizing. It’s a bewildering showcase this part of the film is, and it should be a given considering the talent behind these characters.
The best thing about this movie is that it turns on you by becoming an exceedingly uncomfortable of a film to watch. The emotions come bursting out like an enormous mushroom cloud of tears and fears. Everyone's emotions are spread out before you on the screen, and it is not always a pretty site. It makes you squirm, especially the scene in which you just want to scream out “Don’t do It” to Braff’s character. And this is the instant where The Last Kiss differs from its originator, the one fundamental difference I had alluded to earlier. It’s a scene where everything seems to be tied up nicely in a knot, but then Braff’s character spouts out information that brings everything crashing down. It’s a heartbreaking scene.
Everything between Braff and Barrett are golden, whether it be the comical instances or the emotion turmoil being brought, where we see their faces enwrapped with feelings, not knowing what the future will hold. It’s just wonderful performances. Perhaps the film’s most poignant moment involves an uneasy conversation between Wilkinson and Braff about the nature of marriage; it’s an introspective look at perspective. Actually it’s either that moment or the moment where Bilson takes it off and where I later find myself heading to the washroom to relive some tension. Both are very much so poignant on two entirely different levels.
Director Tony Goldwyn and writer Paul Haggis refuse to cave to formula, and they allow these characters to screw up their lives or for some to take their screwed up lives back. I treasure the sense of honesty depicted here; not everyone is allowed a fairy tale ending to their story, and some are even left with a big fat question mark, as it should be. This film really is an unexpectedly challenging and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking that takes temptation and matrimonial anxiety so seriously and so selfishly.
The Last Kiss is movie about relationships, forgiveness, and the absolute nature of love. It’s honest, it’s real, or at the least that’s how I perceive it, because life is hard and a relationship is an extension of life. The film enables us to feel its impact by capturing the sheer terror of getting that first glimpse into your future. By bringing us to a crossroad, to make decision of whom we want to be. There are characters here that have absolutely no clue on what to do, their futures are just one long ellipsis and this scares them as much as those who can see their endpoint. There is humour in this movie as much as there is humour in the lives that we live, we are able to laugh and feel happy. But with a smile there always comes the frown, and this movie brings its characters to face the facts of life steeped in emotional tension, to fear their decisions. And with its ambiguous ending, you come to realize that this is indeed life, in its truest form. It’s a movie, but it feels authentic.
director: tony goldwyn
writer: paul haggis, gabriele muccino (source material)
date: 09/19/06
reviewer: Suj
rating: 8.6
The Last Kiss is an honest look into what a relationship is all about. It’s never easy, the answers are not always there, and relationships are often always a tough business. Don’t go into this movie thinking it’s going to be one of those happy-go-lucky date movies, because its not and while watching it you’ll come to know how heavy the material actually gets. I was lucky enough to have seen this films original source material, L'ultimo bacio, a 2001 Italian film, which I might add is a wonderful movie in it of itself. The Last Kiss is essentially made up of its source material, remade with young Hollywood standing present, though there is one fundamental difference and its in that instance that sets it apart and perhaps even surpasses its originator.
The movie begins as an ensemble piece about a handful of long-time friends turning 30, all in various stages of their respective relationships. Chris is married with a child, though he is hopelessly miserable. Kenny is single and does not want to grow up and possess a very active sex life. Izzy has just broken up with his long time girlfriend while his father is nearing the brink of death. And finally we have our protagonist, Michael, played by Zach Braff who is engaged to the beautiful Jenna played wonderfully by Jacinda Barrett, who is several months pregnant. To everyone their relationship appears to the happiest of its kind, with a promising future together. But at a mutual friends wedding, Michael engages in a light flirtation with college girl Kim played by sexpot Rachel Bilson, and as the film progress this flirtation turns into bad decisions.
Zach Braff is marvelous in this film. His character isn’t someone who is always looking to see what lies on the road less traveled. He's a man very much afraid that he can clearly see how the rest of his life will turn out. With a baby on the way, his path seems laid out before him, and it terrifies him. The agonizing he goes through is all on his face and in his actions, it feels real. It’s an honest performance of a man sorting through life, wanting change, but too wanting everything to stay the same. This kid has got some talent.
Really, all the performances are quite good here. Though perhaps, the standouts are that of Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner who play the parents of Jacinda Barrett’s character who have been married for 30-plus years. Wilkinson plays a man who doesn’t often wear his emotions on his sleeve, where Danner just wants him to show an emotion. She tries to evoke emotion by exploding at him, making him feel guilty or jealous, though you can see these games have an effect on him, but he’s always internalizing. It’s a bewildering showcase this part of the film is, and it should be a given considering the talent behind these characters.
The best thing about this movie is that it turns on you by becoming an exceedingly uncomfortable of a film to watch. The emotions come bursting out like an enormous mushroom cloud of tears and fears. Everyone's emotions are spread out before you on the screen, and it is not always a pretty site. It makes you squirm, especially the scene in which you just want to scream out “Don’t do It” to Braff’s character. And this is the instant where The Last Kiss differs from its originator, the one fundamental difference I had alluded to earlier. It’s a scene where everything seems to be tied up nicely in a knot, but then Braff’s character spouts out information that brings everything crashing down. It’s a heartbreaking scene.
Everything between Braff and Barrett are golden, whether it be the comical instances or the emotion turmoil being brought, where we see their faces enwrapped with feelings, not knowing what the future will hold. It’s just wonderful performances. Perhaps the film’s most poignant moment involves an uneasy conversation between Wilkinson and Braff about the nature of marriage; it’s an introspective look at perspective. Actually it’s either that moment or the moment where Bilson takes it off and where I later find myself heading to the washroom to relive some tension. Both are very much so poignant on two entirely different levels.
Director Tony Goldwyn and writer Paul Haggis refuse to cave to formula, and they allow these characters to screw up their lives or for some to take their screwed up lives back. I treasure the sense of honesty depicted here; not everyone is allowed a fairy tale ending to their story, and some are even left with a big fat question mark, as it should be. This film really is an unexpectedly challenging and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking that takes temptation and matrimonial anxiety so seriously and so selfishly.
The Last Kiss is movie about relationships, forgiveness, and the absolute nature of love. It’s honest, it’s real, or at the least that’s how I perceive it, because life is hard and a relationship is an extension of life. The film enables us to feel its impact by capturing the sheer terror of getting that first glimpse into your future. By bringing us to a crossroad, to make decision of whom we want to be. There are characters here that have absolutely no clue on what to do, their futures are just one long ellipsis and this scares them as much as those who can see their endpoint. There is humour in this movie as much as there is humour in the lives that we live, we are able to laugh and feel happy. But with a smile there always comes the frown, and this movie brings its characters to face the facts of life steeped in emotional tension, to fear their decisions. And with its ambiguous ending, you come to realize that this is indeed life, in its truest form. It’s a movie, but it feels authentic.
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