Review of The Last Station (2009) by Eric B — 05 Jul 2010

First off, I have never heard of this film before. I guess the film was released under the radars earlier this year! Never heard of it, but was interested in viewing because the film was based on true events, and I have always been a sucker for films that are based on true stories.

The film started out fine. The film's story slowly developed, and the pacing was a little slow at times. But, I was interested in learning more about the organization the film revolved around. Some parts of the film was a little confusing and boring at times.

Not sure if it was because the real life events were boring in itself, but I was hoping the film could have picked up a bit. If this film was on a highway, it was driving less than 40 mph. Now that is slow.

There were times when it picked up, but oddly feel back down. The film's characters were all interesting. It was hard to remember each of their names, because they were hard to pronounce and rarely called on during the film.

One thing I actually enjoyed was the film's musical score and art direction. The art direction wasn't much, but it was compelling enough and it did set the mood of the film and in specific scenes.

The score was simple and true to the era, but was hoping for more orchestral pieces, as well. Overall, the film was interesting. A little boring, but what can you do? Again, never heard of this film before, but I guess the two main characters were nominated for an Oscar for their portrayal of their respective characters.

But, I didn't pick up on anything special from the film. Paul Giamatti's character was obviously an ass, and Mirren's character was semi-annoying at times. But, the film did interest me in learning more about the organization, which I actually did some research on after viewing the film.