The Last Kiss
February 19, 2007
- Dan Ramer,
DVDFile.com
This is the third of a group of relationship films
I’ve recently reviewed. It comes on the heels of Trust
The Man and The Science Of Sleep. And of the
three, I found this to be the most emotionally genuine and the most
satisfying. It’s a tale of love and fear, the inability to
look beyond marriage as an end and understand that it’s really a
beginning. The Last Kiss is an American remake of the
Italian motion picture L'ultimo bacio written by Gabriele
Muccino. How faithful to the source material I cannot testify,
but I do know that a few critical plot points were altered to increase
the poignancy and dramatic impact.
Michael (Zach
Braff) would seem to have it all: a satisfying job; a lovely
girlfriend, Jenna (Jacinda Barrett); and, loyal friends. But
when Jenna declares that she’s pregnant and she and he announce
their imminent marriage to her parents, Anna (Blythe Danner) and
Stephen (Tom Wilkinson), Michael begins to feel a growing panic that
feels like claustrophobia. Rather than being grateful for his
good fortune, he feels trapped. It’s not clear if
he’s manifesting a Peter Pan complex, resisting growing up and
assuming adult responsibilities, or if he’s simply wracked with
doubt.
One might think that Stephen, a psychiatrist
and Michael’s soon-to-be father-in-law, would be able to help
him navigate through his emotions. But his marriage isn’t
that healthy, and it’s not clear why he isn’t more
sensitive to his wife. Stephen’s emotional distance
apparently provoked Anna to have an affair not too long before; he was
a university professor played by Harold Ramis. And,
unfortunately, Stephen has yet to understand her needs. But her
infidelity will actually help during the emotional crisis to come.
Attending a wedding with Jenna, Michael meets Kim
(Rachel Bilson) at the outdoor reception. She’s a very
cute, sexy, outgoing college student who makes it very clear that
she’s attracted to him. Perhaps he has reason to fear the
future. His friend Chris (Casey Affleck) is melting down as his
marriage crumbles under the pressures of parenthood. Another
friend, Izzy (Michael Weston), is having trouble keeping it together
as he suffers from being dumped by the woman he loves. Only
friend Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) seems utterly at ease, flitting
from one sexual conquest to the next. And Jenna’s tendency
to dominate Michael in their relationship by exerting undue control
certainly must have an influence. Michael is driven into
Kim’s arms and into Kim’s bed.
The
aftermath of his dalliance is more devastating than he expects.
Jenna was so sure that she had him completely under control that the
unexpected shock of his unfaithfulness causes her to explode.
How all these relationships play out I’ll leave for you to
discover. The screenplay was authored by Paul Haggis
(Crash, Million Dollar Baby), and he seems to have
tapped into the genuine emotions of imperfect relationships. The
film avoids the cloying and the self-conscious; it examines romance
from the point of view of human fallibility and insecurity.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio
of 2.35:1 in a reasonably nice anamorphic transfer. The images
sport good small object detail; just watch for the expressions on the
faces of the actors in long shots during the wedding reception.
Fabrics and foliage display reasonably good finely grained
textures. Alas, there are subtle halos, but they rarely
intrude. You’ll find natural skin tones and nicely
saturated colors in clothing. Deep blacks blend into the
letterbox bars. And in the night scenes and in darkened
bedrooms, you can expect very good shadow detail.The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
This
is yet another of those Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks that could have just
as easily been a simple stereo track. The dialog-driven film is
predominantly front-heavy. The surround channels, if used at
all, reproduce ambiance. Sound effects only support onscreen
actions. Deep bass is neither present nor missed.
Fortunately, the spoken word remains distortion-free throughout.
Alternate tracks include English Dolby Surround 2.0 and
French Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is supported by subtitles in
Spanish and English, for which Closed Captions are included. Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
There are two feature-length commentaries.
The first is by Tony Goldwyn and Zach Braff. Be prepared for
some gaps and pauses as they run out of steam or become distracted by
the film. They discuss the plot points and character arcs.
And they touch upon the usual topics related to the conception and
production of the film. The two seem to enjoy each other’s
company, joking around and keeping the tone light. In the second
commentary, cast members Barrett, Bilson, Weston and Olsen join
Goldwyn and Braff for more of a verbal free-for-all.
You’ll learn about how the players got along and hear a little
about the shoot. But overwhelmingly, the cast seems to enjoy
joking around and amusing one another. And when they are not
trying to outdo one another, they may become distracted by the film
and lapse into silences. The first track is clearly the better
of the two.
The featurettes vary in
length from the very short to the substantial; they easily could have
been edited together for a single documentary, but once the runtime
exceeded 30 minutes, it would have kicked up the fees.
You’ll find The Last Kiss: Filmmaker’ Perspective
(2:30), Getting Together (26:41), Behind Our Favorite
Scenes (8:24), and Last Thoughts (3:27). Taken as
a whole, it’s a reasonably good overview of the
production. The producer, director, and cast participate. The first segment features producer Gary Lucchesi and director
Tony Goldwyn discussing the film’s Italian origins and the
nature of human behavior. The second predominantly considers
casting. It delves into the storyline and nature of the
characters. Screenwriter Haggis and director Goldwyn describe
their artistic choices. It’s a little on the light side,
leaning toward EPK. Perhaps the most interesting factoid is that
Jacinda Barrett returned from her honeymoon early to audition for her
part. The next segment has the principals discuss a few of the
film’s significant scenes, information that I’m willing to
bet any viewer would have gleaned from watching the film. And
the final segment is the actors’ love letter to the production,
explaining how much they enjoyed filming.
Zach
Braff introduces and directs a Music Video (3:25):
Cary Brothers’ “Ride.” Film enthusiasts will
recall that Braff has directorial experience, having directed the fine
Garden State. Alas, this is a completely disposal
supplement.
There are seven Deleted
Scenes (13:30). Some are new; some are extended.
There are two alternate endings. None of this material is as
strong as found in the theatrical cut, although I’m sure many
will enjoy the additional nudity during the bachelor party. The Gag Reel (2:44) isn’t quite as
funny as I would have hoped. It’s the usual collection of
mugging for the camera, fooling around, flubbing lines, and
occasionally swearing over mistakes.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the
disc into your PC?
None are included on this
disc.
Final Thoughts
This
is a reasonable relationship film that examines fear of commitment
from a realistic perspective. The transfer is okay, the audio is
okay, and the supplements are reasonably generous. But I’m
not sure the film has much rewatchability potential, so perhaps you
should seriously consider a rental.
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