It's rare when a film's rating actually starts to climb the more people get to see it, so I'm really happy because Last Night totally deserves it.
A lot has been already discussed in other reviews, let me comment on things which haven't been covered yet.
*** Possible spoilers ***
Apart from main themes of the film: "Which is worse - physical or emotional unfaithfulness?", "Can suspicion give rise to infidelity?" and "What do we regret more, doing something or blowing the only chance and not doing it?", I love the way Massy shows the irony of getting what one wants. Or rather the way it happens in real life: when we get it, it's not quite exactly WHAT we wanted and usually not WHEN we wanted it. Joanna is the perfect example of that. She wants Michael to love her, spend more time with her, and to be his sole object of attraction. When he realizes how much she means for him at the end, and he himself wants to give Jo what she wanted, she couldn't care less... now she's all about Alex. She gets exactly what she wanted but too late.
And then there is this theme of temptation and how people are fighting it. Massy Tadjedin shows all the hypocrisy of this notion. Temptation is not something awful that people FIGHT, it's something pleasurable that they actively SEEK. Very often anticipation of a deed is more gratifying that the deed itself. This is what temptation is. It's almost like foreplay. People love toying with an IDEA, playing all possible scenarios in their mind, modifying it, perfecting it. And at the same time they have this conceited view of themselves as being noble because they are "resisting" the ACT. But the truth is that if temptation really was something horrible that we have to fight with all our might, we would do all we could to avoid putting ourselves in such position. Joanna would never go out with Alex, Michael would never end up in this pool with Laura. They did that not because they saw that as a challenge and wanted to examine the strength of their character, but because they wanted it, because it was (almost) as good as fulfilling their fantasies.
Finally Joanna and Alex are writers, and as such are used to living in the world of heightened emotions. Drama is their air. They are both aware, maybe her more than him, that fulfillment quenches the urge, while longing is more powerful and eternal than desire. What seems like an almost unbearable sacrifice on her part, in fact may be her way NOT to give up this love.
***Spoilers end***
Acting is fantastic from everyone.
I am Joanna in real life, and I didn't sense a single false note in Keira's performance. It's heartbreaking because it's so true.
I've never been the greatest fan of Eva Mendes but she won me over in her last scenes.
The only character of the four I've never been is Alex, but Guillame Canet – if not exactly helped me understand his behavior – at least made me feel sympathetic to him.
Finally Sam Worthington was tasked with probably the hardest and most ungrateful job. Firstly, his Michael, unlike Alex, is not the kind of man women fantasize about, but the kind they end up marrying. If Alex is caviar, Michael is bread –the unexciting, taken for granted one, but one who's essential, who provides safety and stability for neurotic Joanna. That this unpretty, almost starchy affair probably constitutes the most exciting thing that has happened in his life of late, borders on poignant. On top of that, the two couples move to the steps of a different dance. While Joanna/Alex let their bodies speak with more and more broad gestures through the night, with Michael/Laura it becomes much more vital what they do NOT do or say. Once they both know exactly where they are, each step becomes like walking a minefield - one word or gesture too many from him, and Laura may mistake it for a sign of his readiness to go where he still hasn't decided whether to go or not. So as the film unfolds, the plot requires this quiet and uncomplicated guy to go progressively more restrained and subdued. And still, constrained by these tight borders of the character, Worthington manages to give his Michael subtle variety: at the opening party Michael has this adorable innocence of an attractive guy who's completely oblivious that he is; he is the real, most earnest self in the moments of intimacy with his wife; and finally when Laura makes her intentions clear he becomes self-conscious, visibly uneasy and unaccustomed to being the one who's appreciated and admired for once. I feel pity for him that this really solid performance doesn't seem to resonate with critics, but at the same time I'm grateful that he chose truthfulness over the urge to show off as an actor.
Special mention - one doesn't get more charming than Griffin Dunne. His Truman stole every scene he was in!
One last word about writing.
Massy Tadjedin directed the film based on her own script, and I thought that she would be very "protective" of every line. I had a chance to read it and I still vividly remember the first 20 pages or so because what the characters say there are verbatim the conversations I once had, same words, just a different language. But in the film, almost all of it is gone. It's incredible because the feeling is the same, but instead of dialog it's all done with gestures. And this is what makes it so much more gratifying - we're given the chance to watch, decipher the subtleties of body language, recognize the patterns we know from our life. Fantastic!
I'm really looking forward to her next film.
A lot has been already discussed in other reviews, let me comment on things which haven't been covered yet.
*** Possible spoilers ***
Apart from main themes of the film: "Which is worse - physical or emotional unfaithfulness?", "Can suspicion give rise to infidelity?" and "What do we regret more, doing something or blowing the only chance and not doing it?", I love the way Massy shows the irony of getting what one wants. Or rather the way it happens in real life: when we get it, it's not quite exactly WHAT we wanted and usually not WHEN we wanted it. Joanna is the perfect example of that. She wants Michael to love her, spend more time with her, and to be his sole object of attraction. When he realizes how much she means for him at the end, and he himself wants to give Jo what she wanted, she couldn't care less... now she's all about Alex. She gets exactly what she wanted but too late.
And then there is this theme of temptation and how people are fighting it. Massy Tadjedin shows all the hypocrisy of this notion. Temptation is not something awful that people FIGHT, it's something pleasurable that they actively SEEK. Very often anticipation of a deed is more gratifying that the deed itself. This is what temptation is. It's almost like foreplay. People love toying with an IDEA, playing all possible scenarios in their mind, modifying it, perfecting it. And at the same time they have this conceited view of themselves as being noble because they are "resisting" the ACT. But the truth is that if temptation really was something horrible that we have to fight with all our might, we would do all we could to avoid putting ourselves in such position. Joanna would never go out with Alex, Michael would never end up in this pool with Laura. They did that not because they saw that as a challenge and wanted to examine the strength of their character, but because they wanted it, because it was (almost) as good as fulfilling their fantasies.
Finally Joanna and Alex are writers, and as such are used to living in the world of heightened emotions. Drama is their air. They are both aware, maybe her more than him, that fulfillment quenches the urge, while longing is more powerful and eternal than desire. What seems like an almost unbearable sacrifice on her part, in fact may be her way NOT to give up this love.
***Spoilers end***
Acting is fantastic from everyone.
I am Joanna in real life, and I didn't sense a single false note in Keira's performance. It's heartbreaking because it's so true.
I've never been the greatest fan of Eva Mendes but she won me over in her last scenes.
The only character of the four I've never been is Alex, but Guillame Canet – if not exactly helped me understand his behavior – at least made me feel sympathetic to him.
Finally Sam Worthington was tasked with probably the hardest and most ungrateful job. Firstly, his Michael, unlike Alex, is not the kind of man women fantasize about, but the kind they end up marrying. If Alex is caviar, Michael is bread –the unexciting, taken for granted one, but one who's essential, who provides safety and stability for neurotic Joanna. That this unpretty, almost starchy affair probably constitutes the most exciting thing that has happened in his life of late, borders on poignant. On top of that, the two couples move to the steps of a different dance. While Joanna/Alex let their bodies speak with more and more broad gestures through the night, with Michael/Laura it becomes much more vital what they do NOT do or say. Once they both know exactly where they are, each step becomes like walking a minefield - one word or gesture too many from him, and Laura may mistake it for a sign of his readiness to go where he still hasn't decided whether to go or not. So as the film unfolds, the plot requires this quiet and uncomplicated guy to go progressively more restrained and subdued. And still, constrained by these tight borders of the character, Worthington manages to give his Michael subtle variety: at the opening party Michael has this adorable innocence of an attractive guy who's completely oblivious that he is; he is the real, most earnest self in the moments of intimacy with his wife; and finally when Laura makes her intentions clear he becomes self-conscious, visibly uneasy and unaccustomed to being the one who's appreciated and admired for once. I feel pity for him that this really solid performance doesn't seem to resonate with critics, but at the same time I'm grateful that he chose truthfulness over the urge to show off as an actor.
Special mention - one doesn't get more charming than Griffin Dunne. His Truman stole every scene he was in!
One last word about writing.
Massy Tadjedin directed the film based on her own script, and I thought that she would be very "protective" of every line. I had a chance to read it and I still vividly remember the first 20 pages or so because what the characters say there are verbatim the conversations I once had, same words, just a different language. But in the film, almost all of it is gone. It's incredible because the feeling is the same, but instead of dialog it's all done with gestures. And this is what makes it so much more gratifying - we're given the chance to watch, decipher the subtleties of body language, recognize the patterns we know from our life. Fantastic!
I'm really looking forward to her next film.