The Age of Commercialism

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I had a chance to see "The last word" although only in DVD. I think this is one of the most interesting and original drama-comedy of the last years. The reasons why this film was pushed straight to DVD is beyond my imagination,comparing to those ordinary(or awful) comedies that usually draw many possible distributors. The film centers on the character of Evan(Wes Bentley),whose job is writing suicide notes for the soon-to-be departed. He's a very quiet man. His life changes when he meets Charlotte(Winona Ryder),sister of one of his client who recently died. She's very free spirited. Charlotte gets interested in Evan. Meanwhile Evan is going to write a note for Abel(Ray Romano)a looser composer who's planning to end his life. So the point is: will Evan be opened with Charlotte about his job and the truth about her brother? Will Abel commit the final act?The pace of the film is engaging,the direction is quite good and the story offers some really stimulating reflections.It portrays a somewhat depressing and impossible "love story" because the characters are fatally compromised and both of them are not able to escape from their own dimension and loneliness.They simply are not able to communicate effectively.However in the end the male lead finds an escape from this wretched existence by ultimately saving the soon-to-be suicide although he destroyed in a way the last chance of a peaceful existence for the female lead.Winona Ryder is simply perfect, her eyes communicating emotions,humor and weakness. After "Girl,interrupted" I think this is her most impressive role and stunning performance(along with "The private lives of Pippa Lee"). Ray Romano is truly great. Wes Bentley is good but not so excellent like his peers. My vote 7/10.

Wes Bentley is Evan. When he meets people and they ask him what he does, he tells them he writes for special occasions. Mainly those special occasions are the suicide notes his clients plan to leave behind. These are not just small notes, they are elegant poems composed especially for the client and to reflect his or her life and the reasons for ending it. In one funny comment, Evan notes that one particular client received an award for his poem ... posthumously.Winona Ryder is Charlotte, the sister of one of Evan's clients. During the weeks leading up to the suicide, when Evan met with him to develop the thrust of the final poem, he gave Evan a photo of him and his sister. Evan thought she was beautiful and wanted to meet her, and does at the funeral service.So far, so good, but what happens next kind of lost me because it didn't seem reasonable. Evan's personality is flat and uncommunicative, but for some reason Charlotte pursues him. Then she takes him to a LA area lounge for drinking and dancing, something he absolutely found no fun it. But she keeps pursuing him until they become a number.The third key character is Ray Romano as Abel, who composes music for "backgrounds", like when you are on hold on a phone call and you hear music in the background.Anyway this is a quirky and often funny movie, but funny in a subtle way. I like Wes Bently, going back to his Ricky character in 'American Beauty.' Ryder, I can take her or leave her. When I see her I think of the messed up shoplifter of a few years ago.The movie would have no value if that's all there was, but through their interactions the three main characters all learn new things about themselves, and grow.

There are some movies that might not really do it for you, but have some redeeming value; The Last Word is not one them. The premise was great, a guy, Even (Wes Bentley) who writes professional suicide notes, and ends up getting involved with a sister of a former client, Charlotte (Winona Ryder). The idea is that the notes Even writes are supposed to be be deep, beautiful poetry, because its the last thing his clients are going to "say" after they're gone. But when you put beautiful poetry next to a bad script, poorly delivered lines, choppy cinematography, and a capricious soundtrack, whatever intelligence the premise had going for it is flushed down the drain. This movie didn't know if it wanted to be a romantic comedy, or an intense drama. Whenever I thought it was going to settle one way or another, either the script would contradict the tone set by the actors, the soundtrack would contradict the script, or a joke would contradict the drama, basically the the movie proceeded to step on its toes one bad scene after another.I could go into more detail and give away spoilers, but to be honest, thinking about this movie is starting to give me a headache. Watch it for yourself, and judge, but if you're looking for an intense drama with a few well placed laughs, go watch Brick, or Better Off Tomorrow.

Comedy? No, folks, there are no laughs here. Great ending? Hah! The bit of relief at the end weighs like a feather compared to the darkness of the movie as a whole. This is a drama, a dark one, with suicide and love deceived and betrayed constantly in the background, yet the plot is compelling, and love tries to wriggle its way to the surface amid the human refuse. An excellent script, particularly if this is the writer's first. Strong, touching performances by Wes Bentley, Winona Ryder and Ray Romano. Don't see it when you're looking for some light entertainment for the evening. But when you're ready for something serious and something that might stick in your mind, see it then. There won't be many movies of its quality this year.