The Last Thing He Wanted (2020)

A veteran D.C. journalist loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she's trying to break. Adapted from Joan Didion's namesake novel.

Director:

Dee Rees

Writers:

Marco Villalobos (screenplay by), Dee Rees (screenplay by)

Stars:

Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Rosie Perez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Hathaway	...	Elena McMahon
Ben Affleck	...	Treat Morrison
Rosie Perez	...	Alma Guerrero
Willem Dafoe	...	Dick McMahon
Edi Gathegi	...	Jones
Mel Rodriguez	...	Barry Sedlow
Onata Aprile	...	Cat McMahon
Toby Jones	...	Paul Schuster
Carlos Leal	...	Max Epperson aka Bob Weir
Ben Chase	...	Max Berquist
Julian Gamble	...	Secretary George Shultz
Robert Sedgwick	...	Stuart James (as Rob Sedgwick)
Bill Kelly	...	General Gus Sharp (as Billy Kelly)
David Vadim	...	Buck Pearson
César Galindez	...	Red Truck Driver (as Cesar Galindez)

Storyline

A veteran D.C. journalist loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she's trying to break. Adapted from Joan Didion's namesake novel.

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Plot Keywords:

journalist | newspaper | quitting a job | arms dealer | secret government agency | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence, disturbing images and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a character named Bob Weir, which is a person in real life. He was a founding member of the very famous band "The Grateful Dead".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Elena McMahon: Some real things have happened lately. First, I wanted to know who. Who chose money over life? Steel and lead over blood and spirit? Who was it overlooked... the living? Who let distance and basic difference decide whose man was left behind bleeding out, and whose men medevac'd to safety? Who the war pig? Who the profiteer? Who the cold heart? The vapid soul?
Elena McMahon: And second... Second, I wanted to know why.

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Crazy Credits

The teletype tape snippets in the closing credits spell out the person's name.

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Soundtracks

Slow Down
Written by Robert M. Crawford
Performed by Vickilyn Reynolds
Courtesy of d2 Music Consulting, Inc.

User Reviews

Seems to think it is a masterpiece when in reality it is quite the opposite

'The Last Thing He Wanted' begins with a long narration from Anne Hathaway's character. We have no context for what she is saying, and what she is saying is so incredibly dull that it is nearly impossible to focus on what she is saying for the lengthy duration she rambles on for. This sets the tone for a truly shocking film. I can't remember the last time I saw a film so pretentious and full of itself, while concurrently being of such a low standard.

Where do I begin with the faults this movie contains? The story is all over the place for starts. It darts around like a headless chook running in circles and never settles down for a moment. The movie asks you to follow every little detail hidden in the dialogue, but the dialogue is so bland and uninteresting that is an immensely tough task to do so. If you haven't completely lost interest in this film 15 minutes in then you have the patience of a saint.

I looked up the book this is based on. From what I can tell people were not overly fond of this book. Which begs the question why it got a film when so many incredible books out there have failed to do so. Who read this rambling mess of a story and thought it would make for a great film? Also how did they get a cast as good as they did with a script this bad? I know Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck's careers have fallen off a cliff, but surely not to this extent? I really did not enjoy this film and even though it's free to watch on Netflix I would suggest it is not worth your time or effort.

Details

Official Sites:

official site The Fyzz [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

21 February 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Thing He Wanted

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elevated Films (II), Pimienta, The Fyzz Facility

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1