Last Night (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 & 22 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:

watching television | 360 degree well camera shot | midnight | turn of the century | end of the world | 

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Taglines:

It's your last night on earth. Go out in style.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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)

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

Don McKellar's feature-length directorial debut

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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

Heartbeat, It's a Love Beat
Written by Michael T. Kennedy and William G. Hudspeth
Performed by The DeFranco Family (as The Defranco Family)
Published by David Schine & Company Inc.
Courtesy of Polygram Special Projects, a division of Polygram Canada Inc.

User Reviews

Haunting and Lovely

I found LAST NIGHT quite thought-provoking and moving the first time I saw it and its impact on me has only grown over time. This is an amazingly sophisticated and well-executed film for a first-time director. What I find thrilling about it is both the fine balance it finds between ideas and emotional resonance and its sense of tonal unity and control. The images and music have stayed with me for years. Despite the melancholic events of the story and the sense of loss that permeates the film (after all, we are talking about the end of the world here), a mordant sense of humour and finally a romantic, optimistic heart leavens the story's darkness, without pushing the movie into cheap sentimentality or melodrama (Armageddon, anyone?). All this and only one of the most memorable closing images in modern film! Seek it out. It's worth it.