Last Night (1998)

Sometimes you read a film blurb and think YES that sounds like an interesting idea.

I found this Canadian film on Film4. Imagine it is your last night on earth. What would you do? As far as I am aware I have never seen a Canadian film. I know the Southpark writers are Canadian (does that mean Team America: World Police is a Canadian film? Disregard the previous if that is the case.) The description promised "a very different group of individuals with very different ideas of how to face the end" (thanks to IMDB.com). I thought I had to give this a go, it sounded pretty far from your typical Hollywood blockbuster.

My mind wandered as I sat to watch the credits. Seeing the possibilities of a world without hope. People without any fear of a tomorrow that will never come. I saw riotous street gangs, unashamed debauchery and desperate acts from desperate people. Maybe I had just been watching the news too much recently! The idea of a world that you knew was going to end in 6 hours really caught my imagination. People can be bad enough when there is accountability, but take all consequence away...

Well if you take away a Canadian's accountability they go to the supermarket to get ingredients for a last meal, or go round their mums for a mock-up Christmas dinner apparently. I am happy to excuse a films low budget, but a lack of ambition cannot be forgiven. I'm sure some people who have watched this (there must be half a dozen of them on this planet somewhere) will point to the fact that it is an understated look at people's need to find some connection with their fellow man. That not all films need lightening pace, witty dialogue or kooky charm. But in the absence of big bangs and loud explosions you need to have some kind of charm or humour, even a subtle sense of dread to make a film like this work.

10 minutes into this film I was bored. It had none of the above I'm afraid. I wanted to like it but the lead actors lack of any kind of charm made it really difficult to care that the world was about to end. Anyone who has been in Play night club in Swansea will probably know this feeling! The closest thing to a likeable character was ginger love machine Alex who resolves to fulfil all of his ambitions, sexual of course. Ironically he would probably have enjoyed Play.

I feel it is my responsibility to watch a wide variety of films on this little journey, so I am glad I gave this a go and made it to the end, much like the people must have been glad it was ending in this piss boring town (sorry, that was the last bad pun I promise). What started as a great idea shrivelled into a poor attempt to show peoples need for a human connection, no matter how fleeting.

Best to give this one a miss in my opinion.

3/10