Last Night (I) (1998)

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.

Director:

Don McKellar

Writer:

Don McKellar

Stars:

Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, Roberta Maxwell

12 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Michaels	...	Streetcar Daughter (as Chandra Muszka)
Geneviève Bujold	...	Mrs. Carlton

Storyline

It's 18:00 in a somewhat deserted Toronto on the last day before the scheduled end of the world at midnight, the end which has been known now for months. Most people are treating midnight as a matter-of-fact event with little sense of panic. In fact, many are celebrating this last day. Most have very specific wants for this last day and will do whatever they need to to make those wants happen. And some, such as Duncan and Donna with the gas company, are working, ensuring that the masses are served and comfortable during the final hours. The Wheeler family are marking the last day by having a Christmas party, although sullen adult son Patrick, his thoughts in part stemming from being recently widowed, has made it clear he wants to be alone in his own home at the end. Patrick's wants may be in jeopardy when a woman named Sandra - Duncan's wife - lands on his doorstep. Sandra is stranded, trying to make it across town to her own home so that she and Duncan can carry out their own last ...

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Plot Keywords:

midnight | end of the world | turn of the century | suicide pact | christmas | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and brief violence

Details

Country:

Canada France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (Canada)

Also Known As:

A Última Noite

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£32,384 (UK) (2 July 1999)

Gross:

£40,591 (UK) (2 July 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media, Téléfilm Canada, La Sept-Arte

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was a result of director Don McKellar's invitation to participate in a challenge to make a movie about the imminent Millennium. Instead of making a movie that he felt might date itself too quickly, he opted to make it about the end of the world rather than just the end of the Millennium.

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Goofs

In the early moments of the movie, when the car's 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.

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Quotes

[Patrick needs one of Craig's cars]
Patrick Wheeler: You have two others!
Craig Zwiller: It's a collection; they're antique cars. Two old cars is not a collection! It's a guy with two old cars.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to the director's exploited friends.

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Connections

Referenced in Magnolia (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Deck the Halls"
Traditional
Arranged by Keith Papworth
Courtesy of De Wolfe Music
By Arrangement with Magnetic Music

User Reviews

Quietly thrilling, darkly humorous, poignant and haunting.

I saw LAST NIGHT last night at a special London preview where we all had to fill in a questionnaire. I don't know if this was just to formulate a marketing campaign or (more worrying) to consider making changes to the film. So just in case, let me say to the powers-that-be, DON'T CHANGE A THING! LAST NIGHT is wonderfully refreshing and intelligent. No cheap thrills or laughs. Nothing derivative or patronising to the audience. It has an integrity increasingly rare in modern cinema. Don't just 'forget Armageddon', it's misleading to even compare them. A sense of impeding doom is treated here like a collective state-of-mind rather than an externalised visual spectacle. It's elegantly spare in both look, writing and performances. Quietly thrilling, darkly humorous, poignant and haunting. Faultless on every level. Congratulations to McKellar, and the team for making the film you wanted to make, without the destructive influence of corporate interference!