Last Exit (2006)

Please don't spend money on this.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

As other reviewers have mentioned, this movie moves along in a way that keeps you not only riveted and unaware of the passing of time, but also should leave you feeling the angst of the main characters.I used to live in L.A., so this movie really hit home with me. The combination of excellent acting and well-written--and well-directed--script, makes it too easy to become steeped in the emotions of both women.Having lived in their world, my deep empathy and understanding of the horrific day each woman is having was palpable, and created a need for some decompression time after watching. "There but for the grace of God goes me" is written all over this film. Especially if you've lived and worked in a city like L.A. After recovering from watching it, I felt a new-found gratitude that I got out of Southern California's every man (woman) for himself lifestyle--ironically the same year this movie was released.This film is grist for self-reflection and thought about the pace of modern life in a city. It should be seen by all who get wrapped up in the daily stress and pressure from such a life, as a reminder of what is truly important in life. But also as a reminder that someone else may be having a day where their life is truly crumbling, so pause for a moment before lashing out!

This has become a staple on the Lifetime Movie Channel since it first aired in 2006 and for a good reason as it's a pretty good movie. For most of it anyway. Beth Welland (Kathleen Robertson) is a clerk in a law firm and a single mother raising a handicapped son and trying to make ends meets. Diana Burke (Andrea Roth) juggles family life and a career as a married mother of two and a successful advertising executive. Beth misses her exit off the freeway driving to work one day due to a combination of being inattentive in her driving and Diana being to assertive in her driving. So begins a chain of events that snowballs into the ultimate day of stress for Beth and concluding when Diana and Beth's paths cross again at the end of the day. The film cuts back and forth to Beth and Diana as we follow them through their day. Robertson is compelling as the stressed out Beth whose day just keeps getting worse. John Fawcett directs. Excellent camera work from cinematographer Norayr Kasper with a tense music soundtrack by Mike Shields and superb editing by Brett Sullivan. I was with this movie until it's highly implausible climax. (SPOILER ALERT) Diana has a pistol (convienantly loaded) that her son had brought to school earlier in the day. Diana was called to the school and given the gun which she put in her center counsel of her Jeep. Beth recognizes Diana as the driver who cut her off earlier in the day when Beth's car breaks down later in the day. As traffic backs up Beth approaches Diana's car and starts smashing it. At this point Diana could have reached for the gun and simply pointed it at her attacker Beth who is outside her vehicle and Beth would have backed off and that would have been that. Instead Beth continues to pummel Diana's Jeep until Diana can weave out of the backed up traffic and split. Beth's car is now working again so she begins a high speed pursuit. Diana loses control of her Jeep and it rolls over before coming to a stop on it's roof. Everything in the car would have been widely scattered about and Diana is strapped in her seat belt upside down, severely injured and on the verge of losing consciousness but yet manages to find the pistol and fire off a shot at Beth as Beth approaches Diana's wreck to administer aid instead of havoc. I realize they were going for an ending with a twist but this was a little far fetched. The whole movie was a little far fetched for that matter but it was a great ride with tension you could cut with a knife throughout. I would give it a 7.0 out of 10 but with a more plausible climax I would have rated it higher.

This is one of those movies that is a bit like a road movie, it moves along at a smooth pace and sort of starts, continues and finishes and at the end you think..blimey!, that may have been a lot about nothing really, BUT, I didn't once look at the clock, I didn't once leave my seat, and just watched and watched.From the opening scene you think you know the plot, but that's the twist, you actually don't. The whole drama moves at a sufficient pace that you don't keep trying to guess the end, you just watch and learn.This movie is a bit like a good book, you never want to turn to the last page, you just enjoy the journey and when you reach the end you feel sufficiently satisfied to pick up another.Most people will be able to empathise with both lead characters, some days just turn out bad and every way you turn just throws up another obstacle. Although it's listed as a 'made for TV' movie, it shouldn't put you off, I've seen far worse at the cinema.Good movie, great and plausible leading ladies.. Enjoy.

I thought this film had so much potential with the two women's lives running parallel and knowing they were going to intersect. But I felt dizzy by the stress and angst of the characters. I thought what might have made my viewing experience less dizzying was that their stress could have been exposed for sure but the character response to the stress could have been more tranquil. I mean who could live their lives like that. As it turned out the ending could have been even more dire given a two hour film with little touch with reality. Yes, we all have angst in our lives, loads of it but it's a personal choice to be that blinded by it.