Last Weekend (2014)

Pretty Good

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Celia Green (Patricia Clarkson) gathers her family for labor day weekend at the Lake Tahoe family lakehouse. Her son Theo Green brings his friends Luke, Nora and Sean Oakes. Her other son Roger Green and Vanessa arrive with some troubles and a case of water. Celia tells her friends Vivian and Jeannie that she and Malcolm are considering selling the house. Theo is a writer on Blake Curtis' TV show and he has invited her to the house. Hector and Maria Castillo are the help around the house.It's yet another dysfunctional family. They're not funny or terribly dramatic. They are simply a bunch of people each with their idiotic quirks. Celia with her money obsession seems set up for a reveal of family financial problems. Then it turns out that it is simply another silly personal quirk. It's rich people with rich people problem. Every once in awhile, they get to a real problem and it feels refreshing like minty water. However most of the movie feels empty and without calories. Maybe there's a real reason why she wants to sell the house. In which case, that should be the central reveal which could lead to family discourse and reconciliation.

The people in this movie are clueless narcissists, very well portrayed. I know people like this, limousine liberals, and this is perfectly spot on. And then the portrayal of their humanity gradually shining through the fog of pretension infects every character and makes for a great movie experience. Patricia Clarkson is once again fabulous in a lead role, and the others play off of her nicely. The pretty scenery doesn't hurt, and the director makes full use of the stunning light show that the California/Nevada mountains provides. I question some of the devices that went nowhere, like the screenplay and the Indian museum. They are not used as devices so much as character filler, most of which is not necessary for our understanding of the characters, but which also doesn't get too much in the way.I have liked Mays in other things she's done, but I thought she was a bit miscast for the role she was asked to play. I thought the story could have done more with the Nora-Sean couple other than just fill up the house and provide background. Overall though, I really liked the way this movie was put together. It does a very good job of showing how insular this world can be and how people who want for nothing will manufacture their own problems just by calling them problems. Misery rises to the level of comfort. All this without veering off into melodrama. Highly recommended.

I have to agree that this is a brave film - but it is brave because, if one can see the subtleties and nuances of the family dynamic and the experience of the main character, then one will understand what this film is truly about. Yes, it is a study of privilege - of the nouveau riche and their children - but it is more than that. It is the study of the beginnings of a catastrophe where only some are aware the measure of a life changing event.Only those who have gone through the beginnings of a loved one's dementia health crisis will identify what is truly transpiring. What we are seeing here is the beginning of a failing memory, and how the character is choosing to deal with it. She is the rock upon which the family is built and she is no longer sure of the geographical boundaries. She is a woman who has built a life based upon control of every situation, real or imagined, but is faced with the ultimate lack of control.I know her.Bravo! Brava!

I saw this film at the KCET screening in Santa Monica and loved it. Too few films explore the intimate lives of women at all, not to mention women's lives after their children have flown the nest. The strong performances, nuanced story and beautiful scenery make for a powerful film.Patricia Clarkson (Celia) is a mother on the brink, struggling with the realization that her two sons are no longer children. Her sons have become adults, and Celia's own transition begins. Patricia Clarkson does a pitch perfect job in playing a character who can be abrasive, unsympathetic (and quite funny), but by the end, a transformation takes place, one that humanizes all involved.As a woman who is NOT rich, my material life may be far from spending summers at Lake Tahoe, but all the material wealth in the world can't buy peace of mind for Celia. To focus on Celia's financial privilege misses the point - the film explores more nuanced questions about what we want out of our lives, and how to navigate changing times and identities - something all mothers can relate to as their children grow older. What I most appreciate is how the movie explores life after children without fear of being too critical or sentimental of either the mother or the children concerned. Real life is not so sanitized, so cookie cutter. The film uses humor to expose some of the darker sides, but eventually finds emotional transformation and cathartic release.Celia's two sons & their assorted friends and significant others, the family's neighbors and other Lake Tahoe relations come together in a beautifully-directed ensemble. Even the lake itself, steady and calm while emotions rage around it - becomes a character whose texture imprints on the whole. Judith Light appears for a few side-splitting scenes, leaving a strong impression as Celia's next-door neighbor & frienemy. To see these two veteran actresses in the height of their talents is a rare delight. How do we navigate through life's inevitable - and not always welcome - transitions? Can we let go of the illusion of control? Can we find peace - and even the ability to laugh at ourselves? Ultimately, Last Weekend provides a moving answer to these questions