Last Chance Harvey Review
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 02.05.2009
Last Chance Harvey presents a master class of acting performances but does this film deserve it?
Directed by Joel Hopkins Written by Joel Hopkins Cinematography by John de Borman Music Score by Dickon Hincliffe
Cast
Dustin Hoffman ... Harvey Shine
Emma Thompson ... Kate Walker
Elieen Atkins ... Maggie Walker
Kathy Baker ... Jean
Liane Balaban ... Susan
James Brolin ... Brian
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
If a movie’s success is based solely on the acting displayed, Last Chance Harvey would be one of the greatest movies of 2008. However, because there is also the entire directing and writing thing involved, Last Chance Harvey is only a slightly above average film.
Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is a musician who creates jingles for television commercials. When the movie begins, Shine is told he needs to watch his back because there is a chance he is being pushed aside for younger talent. When he approaches his boss, he is told he needs to make an impression with the next sale because it may be his last chance. Before the presentation, Harvey must make a weekend trip to London for his daughter’s wedding. When he arrives, we see he is estranged from his family and while he loves his daughter a great deal, is not a part of her life.
Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) is a middle aged woman who makes a living as an airport interviewer, a job that proves to be full of constant rejection. This matches her home life, as she has resigned herself to being disappointed in all areas of her life and seems unwilling to believe she will ever be happy. This is all despite a mother who has made Kate’s single life a priority and employees who want desperately to find a companion for their boss.
In Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, we get beautiful performances of broken individuals who ultimately need each other. Hoffman has spent so many years in character roles and voice over’s in animated movies, you could be forgiven in forgetting how great an actor he is. Films like The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Straw Dogs almost seem like they took place in another world. In Harvey Shine, Hoffman has found a character that allows him to deliver his greatest performance in years. His character is allowed to delve into the soul of a troubled, lonely man who might have pushed everything that was important away but never allows you to believe he deserves to be alone.
Emma Thompson is up to the task of matching up with Hoffman’s performance and both were rewarded with Golden Globe nominations. Thompson is able to effectively portray the lonely, desperate woman who has been rejected and disappointed so much you feel her pain when you watch her on the blind date set up by one of her co-workers. She is a middle aged woman who has chosen to give up on a dating game suited for a younger crowd.
By the time the two meet you desperately want them to find each other. I find it very interesting that the first half of the script relies on what you bring to the table. I found myself feeling intensely sorry for Harry Shine throughout the entire opening of the movie. I felt he was a person whose family was rejecting him when he needed them most and saw a man alone in the world, on the brink of losing everything he ever cared about. I didn’t really connect as well to Kate Walker, who I saw as someone actively trying to not connect with anyone.
On the other hand, my wife did not feel sorry for Harry at all and felt he deserved a portion of what he was receiving. He is shown as a father who was not there for his daughter and seems put out by having to actually go to London to see two Americans get married, despite the fact his daughter’s life is in London. While he has been living a life filled with work, she has moved on and found more support in her step father. Meanwhile, my wife understood the pain that Kate was dealing with and did not consider her to be pushing away connections but afraid of future rejections.
The biggest problem with the film is a script that forces you to bring in these preconceived notions and insert your beliefs into the characters played by Hoffman and Thompson. The script is a cookie-cutter romance similar in style to Before Sunrise, where two strangers meet in the streets of Vienna and connect. I also see similarities to a more recent film, Lost in Translation as Bill Murray’s character seems to be at a similar crossroads in his life. The two characters in this film are at an age where they have much water under the bridge and are at a point in life where trust is a premium.
Most of the movie takes place over one afternoon, following Harry’s daughter’s wedding when he meets Kate in the airport as he prepares to leave. Harry is the aggressive component to this pairing, desperately trying to meet someone, anyone, who will just talk to him. I personally find Kate to be a strange choice as she has already proven to be short with her own mother, a familiar trait to me after seeing Harry’s awkward interactions with his own daughter. Harry, as written in the script, is a creepy, pushy individual. He actually stalks Kate and is very frightening in his determination as he follows her, almost demanding her attention. It is solely thanks to Hoffman’s performance that Harry does not lose your sympathy at this point. Instead of appearing creepy, he remains damaged and endearingly pathetic in his attempts to connect. The script does him no favors and an actor of lesser quality would never have succeeded in this role.
The script also proceeds to push Harry and Kate from Situation A to Situation B and gives us proper plot points to reach and a poorly executed crisis to force Harry and Kate to face their insecurities. Better situated was Harry’s big moment at his daughter’s wedding when he faced up to his past inadequacies and finally said the right thing. However, this movie is about moments and I feel these moments are written poorly and relied too much on the leads to carry the emotions. Without our leads, this movie would be a complete failure.
I want to touch upon one thing in the movie that works wonderfully. There are points between the angst of our leads where we cut to Maggie Walker, Kate’s mom. Most of the first half of the movie is so depressing, without Maggie’s scenes I don’t think I could have made it. Maggie is a woman who lives her life through her daughter’s dating problems until one day she starts to spy on her new next door neighbor, a Polish man. She watches him as he goes into an out of his smoke house and when he brings in a slab of something wrapped up, she instantly believes he must be a murderer and the slab was a dead body. It is generic but Eileen Watkins is hilarious in her reactions and facial expressions. She is a minor character, but is great in her role.
The 411: Last Chance Harvey is an actor’s showcase. Both Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are magnificent in their roles and it might be Hoffman’s best performance in years. However, they are surrounded by a weak script that leaves no surprise. The story is emotionally manipulative and relies on the performers to make you care about the characters. It is nice to see a love story based around a couple not in the blush of youth but there is nothing new here that you haven‘t seen before.
