Year:
2013
Director:
Omid Nooshin
Screenplay:
Andrew Love, Omid Nooshin, Kas Graham
Starring:
Dougray Scott, Kara Tointon, David Schofield, Lindsay Duncan, Joshua Kaynama
Synopsis
is here
My
review for Last Passenger must be taken with a large pinch of salt. Understand
that there is bias here, as the film was worked on by an ex work colleague and
friend who is also an unfortunate Tottenham Hotspur fan. I will fully admit
this because no matter how open minded and unbiased we claim
to be, there are many aspects which, subconsciously or consciously, can dictate
our view of a movie. You just have to look at the anonymous keyboard warriors
who defend any negative reviews of Batman with death threats (without seeing
the movie), or those who will always favour the original foreign movie over the
remake etc. At least I’m honest enough to state my connection here, I’d rather
you know. I'm only a movie blogger, so it's not like you had
any trust or faith my integrity anyway. Personally, I find it a miracle that a
Spurs fan could work on a film. (I’m kidding Spurs fans. There’s a good chance
he’ll read this).
I did
say to myself I wouldn't actually do a write up of Last Passenger due to my
above statements. However,
with this said, that would have been more likely if I didn't enjoy
the film. As a piece of genre entertainment, Last Passenger comes through and
does the job it’s meant to. Director Omid Nooshin directs a solid and engaging
thriller which eschews some of the well worn plot aspects we’re used to. This
is done by delivering economic scenes with effective use of reaction shots and
chemistry to portray the fear and anxieties of our unfortunate travellers.
It
helps that we’re given a solid screenplay. We enjoy these characters as they’re
grounded, believable and well observed. The film travels at a brisk pace, yet
we still manage to absorb a great amount of detail in each character. Uses of
gesture and motif are well utilised, while the main relationship between
father and son works very well, managing to be affectionate without being
saccharine. Because of this the plot doesn't over
elaborate the threat, but the stakes are heavily felt.
The
archetypes play well against each other. The weary but kind elderly lady, the
uptight, first class seated twit, they club together and clash with a certain
amount of weight to proceedings. I will say however that the females (particularly
a game Kara Tointon) get a little lost in with all the testosterone being flung
around, while the performance from Iddo Goldberg is amusing enough before
becoming slightly grating. Still this is a strong cast of characters who
solidity the idea that these are ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.
Last
Passenger is something we don't get very often; a genre film that not only
places its characters first. We care about them as they exasperate any idea
they can to escape. While the motivation of the antagonist is the films weakest
point, the film doesn't feel stupid and the building of the situation
allows us to worry more about what’s in front of us as things become more
desperate. Last Passenger clearly has the likes of Duel as an influence but
holds a distinct British voice about it that feels authentic and different.
Now
that you've read what I've written, you can still make up
your own mind. You do not need to believe what I've put
forth. There's been other films friends have worked on that I really disliked. But as I said, I'm not too worried
about how many feel about my integrity anyway. The important thing if the
film has any. It does.
