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Last Orders

2001, Movie, R, 109 mins

Last Orders: Review

LAST ORDERS
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The cast is a Who's Who of great English actors, but the real star of writer-director Fred Schepisi's winning dramatic comedy is the screenplay. Schepisi successfully fashioned a tight and bittersweet two-hour script from Graham Swift's multi-character, Booker Prize-winning novel about a group of men entrusted with the grim task of scattering their friend's ashes in the sea. The deceased is Jack Dodds (played in flashbacks by Michael Caine), an all-around good-time Charlie and the proprietor of Dodds & Son, Family Butcher. Said son, the tanned and nattily dressed Vince (Ray Winstone), however, wants no part of the family business; he's done quite well for himself as a used car salesman. So well, in fact, that when Jack suddenly finds himself in the hospital, dying and deeply in debt to some rough characters, he turns to Vince for a loan. Jack then gives the money to his Army buddy, Ray (Bob Hoskins), and asks him to bet it on a horse of his choosing. Ray, a divorcée who has long been in love with Jack's wife, Amy (Helen Mirren), once saved Jack's life during the war; that, and his nose for winning ponies, earned him the nickname "Lucky." After Jack's death, Ray learns that he's to perform one last favor for his old friend: He, along with Vince and their friends Lenny (David Hemmings) and Vic (Tom Courtenay), must drive Jack's ashes from London to Margate, the seaside resort town where Jack and Amy spent a happy holiday, and sprinkle them off the pier. Jack's last orders are the catalyst for a sentimental journey by four close friends who nevertheless harbor deep resentments and share secrets that gradually come to light. Given the number of characters involved and the fact that the film flashes back and forth over a 40-year period, the film flows beautifully, thanks in large part to excellent casting and Kate Williams's fluid editing. Perhaps the one criticism that can be leveled against this wonderful film is that it pays too little attention to Vic, the quiet man in the backseat. Truly a pity, considering that he's played by the extraordinarily talented — and lately underused — Tom Courtenay. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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