Review of Last Days (2004) by Mike T — 24 Jan 2010
Devastating, haunting, beautiful, poetic, unforgettable... the more I watch this film, the more I adore it. It still gets under my skin and lingers with me for days after I watch it, and I have seen it over ten times.
This quiet, unsettling character study demands a lot of the audience and, in some ways, is about as subtle as films get. Having said that, I think it is obvious that none of the directorial decisions are made without clear intent.
Van Sant's abstract, minimalist approach to the story is disarming at first but ultimately effective. It provides us with a depiction of silent degradation as opposed to a forcefully emotional presentation.
The stylistic nature works beautifully as an illustration of loneliness, but it is Michael Pitt's chillingly convincing work on the focal character that brings it all together so well. This is one of his finest performances; nuanced, complex and textured.
It is rare that a story can say so much without directly spelling anything out. I think this is one of the saddest, most expertly engineered studies of depression I have seen.
This review of Last Days (2004) was written by Mike T on 24 Jan 2010.
Last Days has generally received positive reviews.
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