Last Chance Harvey
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Directed by: Joel Hopkins
Starring:
Dustin Hoffman - Harvey Shine
Emma Thompson - Kate Walker
Eileen Atkins - Maggie Walker
Kathy Baker - Jean
Liane Balaban - Susan
James Brolin - Brian
Richard Schiff - Marvin
Not all adult dramas have to be emotionally abrasive. Not all romantic comedies have to feature thirty-somethings who learn to get over their initial differences because they're both really good looking. Last Chance Harvey takes both these facts and the result is a soft and sweet romance film featuring two veteran actors effortlessly dazzling us with their abilities.
Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) and Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) are both stuck and they're stuck past middle-age. They've both traded away human relationships to focus on the safety and predictability of unrewarding lives. They meet in London where Harvey is persona-non-grata at his own daughter's wedding. Meanwhile, Kate can't seem to form new relationships as she's always at the beck-and-call of her paranoid mother. Last Chance Harvey's biggest problem lies in this belabored first act where the similarities between Harvey and Kate are obvious but just in case you didn't get it, here's another series of shots of them feeling alone in group of strangers and staring wistfully at their drinks.
But once Harvey and Kate come together, the magic happens. These two actors finally can play off each other and as they slowly reveal their flaws and vulnerabilities to one another as they walk the streets of London. Dustin Hoffman is one of my all-time favorite actors and he's so warm and affable here, completely stripped of pretense and able to win you over with one quick smile. With two strong roles played by two great actors, this may have been a case of one trying to out-do the other but it's actually a cooperative performance. Hoffman couldn't be as good as he is without Thompson and vice-versa.
Watching these two actors together, its refreshing to get a movie for adults that doesn't rely on what we traditionally think of as "adult" material. No one's killed anyone, no one is cheating, abortions aren't happening every five seconds. It's just two mature human beings forging a connection. It's simple, it's well-done, and it makes Last Chance Harvey and enjoyable little film.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
1.8.09