Potential Spoilers…I’ll try to stay away from anything too important, but this is also my place to write about things, so go away or read my Care Bears commentary or one of my cuter Nanjing stories.
I watched Last Kiss this afternoon and I’m a bit torn about it. On one hand, it’s really well acted. I have to specifically give props to Mr. Affleck for his performance in the movie as the married Chris. I hadn’t really seen Casey in real roles beyond his brief appearances in Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting or Ocean’s Eleven. By and large, I was really impressed with all the actors. Zach Braff actually isn’t that great an actor and doesn’t seem to have too much range, but he plays his roles suitably. Jacinda Barrett is incredible, Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson are all amazing. Really impressive performances by all involved in the movie.
Now, with the criticism…the film stops at the most important part. In Good Will Hunting, this sort of ending makes sense because Matt Damon’s character takes a chance and leaves his comfort zone but in this one there is no resolution. What happens the next day? Or the next week? How does one forgive the unforgivable? How does one move on from that? More importantly, how do two people, or a family, or a community of friends, move on from that? How does one forgive the unforgivable?
Another criticism—and this is a reflection on the how much I found the film worthwhile— is that the other stories were so fascinating that I really wanted to know more about Chris and his situation, Jenna’s everyday life, Kenny and Mark’s trip, and especially Stephen & Anna’s story. The movie gave a lot of tidbits, but I can’t say that I left the film feeling satisfied in any way. Which, again, is not to say that it’s a bad film—in fact, I’d highly recommend it to anyone in a relationship—but it’s not a great film either.
Another part I found interesting was the difference in perspective over relationships between the ages. Rachel Bilson’s character, the twenty or twenty one year-old Kim, says that relationships are either work or they don’t and that’s it.
Jacinda Barrett’s 29-ish Jenna also looks at relationships in perspectives similar to that, except with a little more cynicism and wisdom. But it’s still simple in her mind. And then there’s the parents, who view relationships as much more complicated, different, accepting, and subtle.
And, on a personal level, this movie did kill me much like a specific episode of a tv show. It’s watching these men making this idiotic, stupid, hurtful and wrong decisions for…for what? At the cost of…nearly everything, if not the most important things in their lives in those moments. The stupid rationalizations and justifications. In making the same wrong decision again and again.