From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Last Word | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Mark Pellington |
| Written by | Stuart Ross Fink |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Eric Koretz |
| Edited by | Julia Wong |
| Music by | Nathan Matthew David |
|
Production |
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| Distributed by | Bleecker Street |
|
Release dates |
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|
Running time |
108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,982,004 [1] |
The Last Word is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington, from a screenplay by Stuart Ross Fink. It stars Amanda Seyfried and Shirley MacLaine.
The Last Word premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2017. It was released on March 3, 2017, by Bleecker Street.
Synopsis[edit]
A retired businesswoman wants to control everything around her, knowing that she only has a little time left before an imminent death due to a medical condition. She decides to craft her own obituary, so she hires a young obituary writer to work with her to ensure her life story is told her way. The businesswoman tries to expand the horizons of her life, and adopts a young kid for mentoring and lands herself a job as a disc jockey. She grows close with the young writer and influences her life.
Cast[edit]
- Shirley MacLaine as Harriett Lauler
- Amanda Seyfried as Anne Sherman
- AnnJewel Lee Dixon as Brenda
- Anne Heche as Elizabeth
- Tom Everett Scott as Ronald Odom
- Thomas Sadoski as Robin Sands
- Joel Murray as Joe Mueller
- Adina Porter as Bree Wilson
- Philip Baker Hall as Edward
- Sarah Baker as Zoe
- Steven Culp as Sam Serman
- Basil Hoffman as Christopher George
- Todd Louiso as Dr. Morgan
Production[edit]
In September 2015, it was announced that Amanda Seyfried and Shirley MacLaine would star in the film, with Mark Pellington directing from a screenplay by Stuart Ross Fink, while Myriad Pictures would handle sales and finance the film.[2] In February 2016, Anne Heche, Philip Baker Hall, and Tom Everett Scott joined the cast of the film.[3] Nathan Matthew David composed the film’s score.[4]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began on February 3, 2016.[5] and concluded on March 11, 2016.[6]
Release[edit]
In November 2015, Bleecker Street acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.[7] The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2017.[8][9] It was released on March 3, 2017.[10] On its first weekend, the film grossed $35,000 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.[11]
Critical reception[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval of 40% based on 95 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website’s critics consensus reads: «The Last Word proves Shirley MacLaine remains a wonderfully magnetic screen presence — and deserving of a far better vehicle for her considerable talents.»[12] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating «mixed or average reviews».[13]
References[edit]
- ^ «The Last Word». Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ Busch, Anita (September 12, 2015). «Myriad Pictures Will Finance Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried Starring ‘The Last Word’«. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ McNary, Dave (February 9, 2016). «Anne Heche, Philip Baker Hall Join Shirley MacLaine-Amanda Seyfried’s ‘Last Word’«. Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ «Mark Wellington’s The Last Word To Feature Music by Nathan Matthew David». FilmMusicReporter.com. July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ «On the Set for 2/5/16: Vin Diesel & Nina Dobrev Start Shooting ‘xXx’ Sequel, Ben Affleck Wraps Production on ‘Live by Night’«. SSN Insider. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ «On the Set for 3/11/16: Taraji P. Henson & Octavia Spencer Team Up for ‘Hidden Figures’ While Jordan Peele, Allison Williams & Catherine Keener Wrap ‘Get Out’«. SSN Insider. March 11, 2016. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (November 2, 2015). «Shirley MacLaine-Amanda Seyfried Dramedy ‘The Last Word’ Lands At Bleecker Street». Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ «2017 Sundance Film Festival» (PDF). Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (December 5, 2016). «Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, ‘Rebel In The Rye’ & More On Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates». Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Pederson, Erik (December 12, 2016). «‘The Last Word’ Trailer: Controlling Shirley MacLaine Vs. Overwhelmed Obit Writer Amanda Seyfried». Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ «Anna Kendrick’s ‘Table 19’ Leads Meager Post-Oscar Indie Box Office». TheWrap. March 5, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ «The Last Word (2017)». Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ «The Last Word». Metacritic. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
External links[edit]
- Cast & crew
- User reviews
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Последнее слово
Original title: The Last Word
- 2017
- R
- 1h 48m
Harriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, a young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth resul… Read allHarriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, a young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth resulting in a life-altering friendship.Harriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, a young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth resulting in a life-altering friendship.
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This great mix of well-established talent with others just starting out makes for one enjoyable film.
Actress Shirley MacLaine has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has remained active in trying to shape her legacy, which is clearly seen in her 2017 comedy-drama «The Last Word» (R, 1:48). Advertising executive Harriet Lauler has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has become active in trying to shape her legacy, which is what the 2017 comedy-drama «The Last Word» is all about. Now, art-imitating-life parallels aside, playing Harriet serves to remind us how busy MacLaine has remained, on screens big and small, even as her 70s drifted into her 80s – and what a singular talent she remains.
«Control is very important to Harriet,» one character observes. That’s an understatement – and an incomplete one too. Not only has Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine) always exerted control over as many parts of her life as possible, she was always been very disagreeable as she did so. Years ago, she angrily quit the ad agency that she helped to found because she didn’t like how one of her clients conducted a focus group. She once told her gynecologist(!), «When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.» Her parish priest even admits, «I hated her. So much.» These days, Harriet’s retired. She lives alone in her big house and exerts her brand of rude control by chastising her gardener for trimming her hedges from top to bottom, instead of from bottom to top, as she has instructed him, «many times» he admits with a sigh. Then, when she reads someone’s obituary in her local newspaper, she finds something else to control.
Harriet visits the paper’s offices and asks the editor, Ronald Odom (Tom Everett Scott), to introduce her to the obituary writer, Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried). Sitting behind Ronald’s desk, Harriet gives Anne the assignment to write her obituary now, so she can be sure she’ll be satisfied with what will be published about her in the newspaper after she is gone. Ronald tells Anne that Harriet had been a great friend to the paper when she did ads for Ronald’s father and implies that she might remember the paper in her will. «Make her happy,» is Ronald’s simple instruction to Anne, who reluctantly gets to work. The problem is that there just isn’t much to say about Harriet beyond her past career accomplishments – and Anne can’t find a single person to say anything nice about her – even from the list of names that she received from Harriet herself. Naturally, Harriet is dissatisfied with Anne’s first draft – and tells her so.
Harriet has read a number of obituaries and determined that there are four things that make a good obituary: a loving family, the respect of co-workers, touching the life of someone who needs a helping hand and a wild card, something unique in the life of the deceased that provides the proverbial icing on the cake. Harriet knows that Anne won’t write anything about Harriet that is not truthful, so she gets Anne to help her «shape a legacy». Without giving away how all of this shakes out, I’ll just say that this journey puts Harriet and Anne in touch with Harriet’s ex-husband (Phillip Baker Hall), Harriet’s estranged daughter (Anne Heche), a former co-worker (Joel Murray), an at-risk youth (AnnJewel Lee Dixon) and a charming disc jockey (Thomas Sadoski). And as the two women work together on Harriet’s unusual project, she does some unwelcome, but well-intentioned meddling in Anne’s personal life as well.
«The Last Word» is a relatively original and very well-done genre film. Sure, it’s formulaic, but movies use formulas for a reason. The real question is whether the film tells its story effectively and this one definitely does. The script from Stuart Ross Fink (writing his first feature) creates a fresh take on the trope of examining a life not-so-well-lived and gives us interesting characters. The excellent actors bring out the nuances in those characters and director Mark Pellington («Arlington Road», «The Mothman Prophecies») gives the film a great balance of comedy, drama, life lessons and just plain fun. The film’s ending may be predictable, but getting there is a very rewarding experience. Movie Fans (especially fans of Ms. MacLaine) will likely be thankful that, with other projects in the works, this film won’t be the last word in Shirley MacLaine’s stellar career. It also makes us look forward to much more to come from the talented Seyfried, the spunky newcomer Dixon and rookie writer Fink, with this impressive debut. This great mix of well-established talent with others just starting out makes for one enjoyable film. «A-«
- dave-mcclain
- Apr 3, 2017
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This spring, don’t miss a friendship that begins at the end.
Who’s Involved:
Philip Baker Hall, Shirley MacLaine, Danny Roth, Damiano Tucci, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Heche, Tom Everett Scott, Mark Pellington, Thomas Sadowski, Stuart Fink, Dan Steinman, Andrew Karpen
R RESTRICTED MPA
language
Runtime: 1 hr, 47 m
Language: English
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Plot: What’s the story about?
Shirley MacLaine plays a retired businesswoman who wants to control everything around her, including her own obituary, so she writes her own to ensure her life story is told her way. Amanda Seyfried portrays a young writer at the local newspaper who takes up the task of finding out the truth about MacLaine’s character —resulting in a reawakening of passions for MacLaine’s character, and a life altering friendship for Seyfried’s.
official plot version from bleeckerstreetmedia.com
3.36 / 5 stars (11 users)
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Who stars in The Last Word: Cast List
Who’s making The Last Word: Crew List
A look at the The Last Word behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film’s director Mark Pellington last directed Going All The Way: The Director’s Edit and Nostalgia.
Producers
Andrew Karpen
Mark Pellington
Danny Roth
Dan Steinman
Damiano Tucci
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Production: What we know about The Last Word?
Filming Timeline
- 2016 — November: The film was set to Completed status.
- 2016 — April: The film was set to Post-Production status.
Began filming on February 6th, 2016 and ended in late March 2016.
- 2015 — September: The film was set to Development status.
The Last Word DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?
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The Last Word was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 .
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Сюжет:
Гарриет Лоулер — успешная бизнесвумен в возрасте, которая всегда держит жесткий контроль над всем в своей жизни.
И вот, когда она размышляет о своих достижениях, да и о жизни в целом, то понимает, что у нее никого нет: ни друзей, ни семьи, ни даже домашнего животного. А все без исключения отзываются о ней мягко говоря не очень лестно.
«Она ужасная, ужасная женщина. Я ненавидел ее. Очень сильно ненавидел».
И она понимает, что, когда умрет, никто даже не придет к ней на похороны, а в некрологах будут лишь негативные высказывания знакомых о ее жизни.
Тогда она просит о помощи у молодой писательницы Энн Шерман для описания своей жизни в положительном свете.
— Что вы думаете о Гарриет Лоулер?
— Я очень долго ходил к психотерапевту, чтобы не думать о ней.
К чему приведет эта история? Уж поверьте, не только к кардинальному изменению жизней обоих героинь.
Мое мнение о фильме:
Мне понравилось все, а именно:
1) актерская игра, главным образом Ширли МакЛейн. Хочу сказать, что видеть я эту актрису видела, а вот фильмы с ее участием не смотрела. На данный момент это последняя картина, где вы можете ее увидеть, но, судя по Кинопоиску, запланированы еще проекты, в которых она будет участвовать. Кажется, Ширли МакЛейн не собирается останавливаться! В этом же фильме она была невероятной. Ей сейчас 83 года, а эта потрясающая женщина была как глоток свежего воздуха, не побоюсь этого сравнения.
Здесь она играет карьеристку в отставке, женщину на пенсии, которая все контролирует в своей жизни: она берет секатор из рук садовника и сама стрижет кусты, она забирает нож у домработницы и сама готовит себе обед, а на приеме у гинеколога сама делает себе осмотр, что тому приходится отдавать ей деньги! Но, случайно прочитав один из некрологов, она поняла, что здесь ее контроль будет бессилен.
Таким образом, судьба сводит ее с молодой писательницей Энн.
Ее в фильме играла Аманда Сайфред.
Эту актрису я люблю, она также хорошо вжилась в свою роль. При чем она была не только писательницей, но и дочерью, возлюбленной и, впоследствии, хорошей подругой.
2) мне очень понравился юмор, который разбавлял серьезную тему старости, смерти и одиночества. Это был «юмор между прочим», как, знаете, в фильме «1+1». Совершенно не глупые шутки, над которыми иногда я действительно долго смеялась. Хотя, начиная смотреть фильм, никак не ожидала их здесь услышать.
— Если бы вы могли сказать хоть что-то хорошее о ней, что-то одно…
— Если бы она умерла, было бы очень хорошо — как Вам?
— Я лично позабочусь о том, чтобы о тебе в этом здании не осталось ни одного воспоминания
— Отлично, меня это устраивает!
— Никто, буквально никто не сказал ни единого доброго слова о Вас. Ни коллеги, ни друзья, ни, тем более, семья!
— Что Вы сказали?
— Я сказала: ни, тем более, семья!
— Вон из моего дома!
3) интересно освещена одна из центральных тем, задающая вопрос: а какую память о себе мы оставим, когда умрем? Не нова эта история в книгах и фильмах, где герои попадают на свои похороны и слышат все то, что говорят люди, которых они знали. Кто-то хорошее, а кто-то и не очень. Нашей героине не удалось побывать на своих, но она вовремя задумалась над тем, что еще есть время все исправить: встретиться с дочерью, с которой она не виделась уже долгие годы, навестить бывшего мужа, с которым уже давно развелась, обзавестись друзьями. Наконец, оставить о себе светлую память, сделав какое-то доброе дело.
4) Мы не знаем сколько нам отведено времени. Как правило, об этом думают люди, смерть которых стоит на пороге. Но что, если наша жизнь оборвется уже завтра? Конечно, плохо так говорить, но жизнь есть жизнь. Кто будет по нам плакать? Кто будет скорбеть , а кто радоваться этому? Много вопросов у меня блуждало в голове после просмотра фильма. И это еще одно то, что мне понравилось в нем — он заставила меня задуматься о своей собственной жизни, да и о жизни в общем.
5) поднято немало экзистенциальных проблем, но, помимо них, есть еще сквозные проблемы, которые затрагивают различные аспекты нашей жизни. В этом плане фильм выступает как копилка жизнеутверждающих афоризмов, побуждающих всех нас жить, не боясь идти на риск.
— Я скажу тебе кое-что, чего никогда не говорила своей дочери: падай лицом вниз.
— Что?
— Ошибайся, проваливайся с треском
— И это твой совет?
— Да. Когда ты ошибаешься, ты учишься. Когда ошибаешься, ты живешь
6) наконец, эмоциональность картины. Помимо вышеназванного юмора, здесь есть моменты, в которых я могла и всплакнуть. Иногда я искренне радовалась, иногда переживала героям. Все в фильме было очень искренним и живым.
Фильм к просмотру, безусловно, рекомендую. Несмотря на серьезность и важность поднятых проблем, они предстают перед нами с долей хорошего юмора, поэтому воспринимать их и картину в целом очень легко, а вместе с интересной подачей материала фильм точно заслуживает все 5 баллов, а то и больше.
Приятного просмотра!
______________________________________________________________________________________
— Я слышала, вы – дети в зоне риска. Вообще все дети в зоне риска? Покажите мне ребенка, который не в зоне риска, и это именно он ничего не добьется. Вся жизнь состоит из риска. Я рискнула и пошла в колледж… В те времена никто не хотел брать в жены образованную женщину, никто не хотел брать в жены работающую женщину, никто не хотел брать в жены свою начальницу и, уж тем более, никто не хотел брать в жены бизнес-вумен. Но я хотела пойти на этот риск
— Почему? Почему вы хотели рискнуть?
— Потому что я не собиралась отказываться от своего потенциала. Поэтому спросите себя: вы хотите рисковать, чтобы делать глупости? или вы будете рисковать ради великих дел?
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What to know
The Last Word proves Shirley MacLaine remains a wonderfully magnetic screen presence — and deserving of a far better vehicle for her considerable talents.
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Movie Info
Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), a once-successful businesswoman, works with young local writer Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) to pen her life story. When the initial result doesn’t meet Lauler’s high expectations, she sets out to reshape the way she’ll be remembered, dragging Anne along as an unwilling accomplice. As their journey unfolds, the two women develop a strong bond which not only alters Harriet’s legacy but also Anne’s future.
-
Rating:
R (Language)
-
Genre:
Comedy,
Drama
-
Original Language:
English -
Director:
Mark Pellington
-
Producer:
Anne-Marie Mackay,
Mark Pellington,
Kirk D’Amico
-
Writer:
Stuart Ross Fink
-
Release Date (Theaters):
Mar 3, 2017
limited
-
Release Date (Streaming):
Jun 6, 2017
-
Box Office (Gross USA):
$1.8M -
Runtime:
1h 48m
-
Distributor:
Bleecker Street Media
-
Production Co:
Myriad Pictures,
Parkside Pictures
-
Aspect Ratio:
Scope (2.35:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Last Word
Critic Reviews for The Last Word
Audience Reviews for The Last Word
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Jul 04, 2017
I’ve got a bit of a gripe with the rating system, in general. This is something I’ve mentioned before on my Flixster reviews, but I just wish there was a way you could do quarter ratings. Because there are movies that are better than 2.5 stars that don’t quite reach 3. This is why some people, above the review, put the score on a scale of ten. What I don’t believe is sort arbitrary ratings, like 8.72 or something, like Pitchfork does. Like how do you even come to that score? Unless you’re scoring different criteria and getting the average out of that. I don’t know if this is how Pitchfork actually does it, at least now. I read some of their reviews years ago and I don’t remember seeing different criteria being scored. But that’s neither here nor there. The point of the matter is that i felt that this movie was just a little bit better than 2.5 stars. It’s not quite what I would call a good movie, but it’s a fairly solid one. And I’ve given solid movies 3 stars before, but this isn’t a movie I feel comfortable giving that to. I don’t know what it is about it. Perhaps the fact that I knew that it was gonna end up exactly the way that it ended up. I think it’s also due to the fact that I’ve seen movies like this before. Where a cantankerous old person, in this case a woman, meets and develops a friendship with a younger person, despite being antagonistic with one another when they first meet. Their friendship is life-changing for the both of them and they learn much from one another. I saw one of these recently, at least like 2-3 months ago, and it was called Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. There’s a movie available on Amazon Prime called A Man Called Ove, which seems similar from its trailers, except the man in the film bonds with a family instead. There’s another one that came out a few years ago that’s more of an indie film that I wish I could remember the name. But, I digress, what I’m trying to say is that this is a movie that is made often and, realistically speaking, the best you can hope for is that you make a good movie, since there’s no real unique angle that you can tell this story in. I mentioned earlier that this isn’t what I would call a good movie. But I still felt that it was a well-made movie with a really strong cast. Shirley McClaine is great as this shrewd, retired businesswoman who wishes everybody to do things precisely the way she wants them to be done. She hires people to trim her bushes and when she’s unsatisfied with that, she does it herself. She cuts her own hair at the salon. She examines herself at the gynecologist. But I felt that the character was strong, though I wish they would have explored more about why Harriet is the way she is. This is something that her ex-husband brings up, but when she was coming up she had to work twice as hard, be twice as ruthless to get the respect that men who, very likely, didn’t work as hard as her had. She is the way she is simply because of the time that she came up in and wanting to fulfill her own potential. This attitude and approach to dealing with people has, obviously, left her with very few friends. Which is when she meets Anne, an obituary writer. She hires Anne to write her obit while she is still alive. Anne tries but nobody has absolutely anything positive to say about her. This prompts Harriet to set some guidelines for her obit. She needs to be loved by her family, she needs to be respected by her co-workers, she needs to have mentored someone and the last one is a bit of a wild card. Like, a noted lover of the arts, that type of thing. This is where the film finds it basis, since the film is Harriet’s journey to, really, change her life. It doesn’t start off as magnanimous as it sounds, since she’s just doing all of these things to make sure her obituary sounds great. She’s doing it for herself and not because she felt she made mistakes that needed correcting. I think the movie works because Amanda Seyfried and Shirley McClaine do have some excellent chemistry. But, and I’ve already mentioned this, the film hits all the beats you would expect. Harriet makes judgments on Anne’s life and how she’s afraid to take risks with her life and career. The two bicker constantly and it’s all perfectly fine to watch. That’s the problem, though, it’s all just fine. I really think the film should have included more of Brenda, who’s the ‘at-risk youth’ that Harriet wishes to mention. The AnnJewel Lee Dixon, who plays Brenda, obviously isn’t the most experienced actress with this, in fact, being her first film. But she’s probably the best thing in the entire movie outside of Amanda and Shirley. She’s very charismatic and energetic. The scenes with her are highlights. I do wish the film had also shown more of Brenda simply because Harriet was supposed to make an marked difference in her life and you really didn’t get to see that. One of the film’s biggest themes, if not its biggest one, is abandonment. Brenda, Anne and Harriet are all dealing with some for of it. Brenda and Anne had their father and mother, respectively, leave them when they were very young. And Harriet was never really there, emotionally speaking at least, for her daughter. This is something I can relate to, but I never felt them go in too deeply on this subject. I guess I get why they didn’t, they don’t want to bring the movie down, but it would have been interesting to see. The ending is very sentimental, just as one would expect, but it could have been considerably worse. That shouldn’t be taken as a positive, but it is what it is. This is certainly an agreeable and watchable movie, thanks to two very talented lead actresses, but I believe that the film is content just being what it is, it doesn’t want to be anything more than that. It doesn’t strive to be great. Which is ironic when you consider that one of Harriet’s big things was taking risks and fulfilling your own potential. With that said, I can’t exactly give this a glowing recommendation, this a perfectly fine little movie.
