Last Night (1998/I)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Don McKellar

Writer:

Don McKellar (written by)

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's not the end of the world... there's still six hours left

Plot:

A group of very different individuals with different ideas of how to face the end come together as the world is expected to end in six hours at the turn of the century.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Pact | End Of The World | Interracial Sex | Streetcar | Teaching

Awards:

12 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Don McKellar	...	Patrick Wheeler
Sandra Oh	...	Sandra
Roberta Maxwell	...	Mrs. Wheeler
Robin Gammell	...	Mr. Wheeler
Sarah Polley	...	Jennifer 'Jenny' Wheeler
Trent McMullen	...	Alex
Charmion King	...	Grandmother
Jessica Booker	...	Rose
David Cronenberg	...	Duncan
Tracy Wright	...	Donna
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Craig Zwiller
Karen Glave	...	Lily
Arsinée Khanjian	...	Streetcar Mother
Chandra Muszka	...	Streetcar Daughter
Geneviève Bujold	...	Mrs. Carlton

Also Known As:

Last Night (France)
Minuit (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and brief violence.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Taiwan:R-18 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | France:U | Norway:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Trivia:

The part of Sandra was specifically written for Sandra Oh.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the early moments of the movie, when the car in up on it's bumper against the pole. The girl puts her keys in the door to unlock it and when the door opens, the bell goes off, to alert that the keys are in the ignition or that the lights are on. Neither is true.

Quotes:

Radio DJ: We've reached number twelve on the top 500 of all time, according to... me, alright? So don't bother calling in. This time, it's my choice.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Takin' Care of Business

Moving, intriguing, and credible

I have seen this film twice, and believe that it is certainly one of the best films of 1998. One person brought that people wouldn't be violent on the day when the world ends, but come together in a type of philosophical togetherness. I was stunned by that idea, assuming that the cynicism that permeates today's culture would have enforced that idea, that violence will be around. The end of the world is a violent thought, as exemplified in films such as Armageddon and Deep Impact (true, they were stupid films). But that aside, Last Night is a powerful and very introspective look at the lives of several people who's lives happen to be interwoven on the last day of the world. It begs the question "what would you do with the final six hours". Many have remarked on the tone, and I have to heap more praise on the subtle irony that is found throughout the film. Why is the world ending? The audience doesn't find out. Whether one's appreciation of the film diminishes or grows for this ambitious step is purely personal. For a ninety minute film, it's ambition in depicting six lives is interesting, and it's only mistake. For the movie to do justice to all the characters, it needed to be at least half an hour longer. But that singular flaw does not negate the film's final achievement.

The entire cast is sensational, even if they're on for short periods of time. Rennie and Oh took home well deserved Genie awards for their brilliant performances, but I felt McKellar's performance was the most intriguing. He has a talent for not poignant drama, but scenes of almost deadpan-type comedy (where Sandra asks him the favour).

Don McKellar has got to be among the most versatile writers around. After writing Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, the fragmented biopic about the famous pianist, and The Red Violin, another slightly fragmented story told through and about a violin, he wrote, directed, and starred in Last Night, and apocalyptic dramedy (or an ironic tragicomedy), and he does it with supreme style. Last Night is a film not to be missed, but to be pondered over and savoured.