Last Chance Harvey

I’m really not a big fan of those romantic comedies that probe questions that whomever wrote the screenplay dubbed to be the big romantic questions of our time. These questions of “Is she/he just not that into you?” or “What would have happened if I had done this?” seem too cerebral for that fluffy romantic comedy plot structure most of the time, and when Hollywood does attempt to do something more intellectual and original with its rom-coms, let’s be honest — it doesn’t work out nearly as well as it should. He’s Just Not That Into You, I’m looking at you…glaring even.

Sometimes, though, it’s done correctly, and films such as Last Chance Harvey are set upon American audiences. There aren’t any exciting moments or rocky relationships here — just something that is genuinely sweet and sublime for a change. Harvey Shine and Kate Walker (Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson) are two middle-aged, relatively lonely people who are almost on completely opposite sides of the world. Harvey lives in the United States and Kate resides in London, but their paths cross in an airport bar when Harvey flies to London for his daughter’s wedding. They hit it off and decide to spend time together before Harvey flies home.

The meandering nature of this film and the questions it provokes reminded me of a more mainstream adaptation of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise. Harvey and Kate come across as a 50-something equivalent of Jesse and Celine’s naivety and young love, as if they were being reunited for a second time many years later. Hoffman and Thompson seem to be enjoying themselves a great deal in this cute and not necessarily mindless yet certainly escapist film, and this helps smooth over the occasionally bumpy and overly sentimental plot points which fortunately only ride the line between schmaltz and sincerity.

While Last Chance Harvey is honest in its intentions, it does occasionally fall into convention, but only ever so slightly. To be honest, you could probably give me a plot summary of this film without having seen it and it would be spot-on, but it’s not as if that is unexpected. Hoffman’s big dramatic speech at the end of the film should come across as being emotional and heartwarming but instead wavers on the line of being manipulative and overly emotional. Fortunately, it keeps within the limits, but ever so slightly.

About the DVD (to be released May 5th): Last Chance Harvey comes in a two-disc set with a nice slip-cover. The first disc houses a widescreen presentation of the film along with a nice making-of feature and audio commentary with the director, Hoffman and Thompson. The theatrical trailer is also included. The second disc contains a fullscreen version of the film, if you are so inclined.