Love Hurts

Apologies for failing yesterday to post Jett Wells‘ review of Massy Tadjedin‘s Last Night, which screened Monday night at the Tribeca Film Festival: “My first Tribeca Film Festival got off to a slow start last weekend due to my dog throwing up in the car before dropping him off at my mom’s apartment, and then my shuttling down to D.C. to see a friend,” Jett begins.

“Directed and written by Massy Tadjedin, Last Night is about the age-old question on whether to cheat or not to cheat. The film portrays a struggling, newly married couple (Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington) having doubts about whether they got married too soon or not. Heard this one before?

“You don’t really get a feel for the couple nor find them likable before they get into their first fight. Even though I’m blinking slowly and wondering why writing about this is more boring than the plot, you do stick around to see who’ll cheat first.

“The film jumps back and forth between Eva Mendes acting annoyingly, somewhat ridiculously and almost sadistically flirty with Worthington despite knowing he’s married, and Knightley bumping into an old flame, played by French actor-director Guillame Canet. I’m not going to spoil the third-act finish, but let’s just say you usually know where these kinds of movies are going to go depending on the gender of the director. And I’ll also say this: the abrupt, somewhat mysterious ending is, for me, pretty satisfying.

“Since Mr. HE himself has unique views on cheating, I’m sure he’d have more disdain for the banal storyline. But for me it boils down to this: it’s never good to cheat, and one should never keep it a secret because chances are it’s going to happen over and over again until the truth becomes a ticking time bomb in the form of a lie (to yourself).

“Neither Knightley or Worthington are bad people — that’s not the point. And it’s obvious neither is going to lie about what they did and didn’t do.”

Jeffrey Wells interjection: Jett chose not to explain my views about cheating so here they are: (a) infidelity is pain — a terrible and hurtful thing to inflict upon your partner — and therefore you should never go there; (b) If you do you should keep it to two or three episodes because extended affairs are always discovered sooner or later; and (c) if you’re questioned by a partner always lie and deny, lie and deny and lie and deny. As Lenny Bruce once said. “Deny it even if she’s got pictures.”

25 thoughts on “Love Hurts

  1. “My first Tribeca Film Festival got off to a slow start last weekend due to my dog throwing up in the car before dropping him off at my mom’s apartment, and then my shuttling down to D.C. to see a friend”

    Chip off the old block.

  2. LOOK. AT. HER.

    Liked this movie a lot. The ambiguous ending Jett refers to is really strong. As is Worthington’s towering performance.

  3. The review seems somewhat truncated, with the sudden reference to Mendes (I’ll assume Eva). Can’t see the trailer at work as Youtube is blocked.

    My initilal reaction is Jett’s still idealistic enough to think cheating won’t be something he’ll have to deal with, and maybe he won’t, but most likely he will.

  4. Do married people in their 40′s and 50′s just laugh at this trailer. Is there really conflict in being under 30, childless, with disposable income and enjoying both sex and drama? If you’re even considering straying as a newlywed, imagine when you’re once high-end loft turns into a playpen and your wife can’t a. stop nagging and b. drop the baby weight.

    Lyne would look at this script and correctly declare that the characters are way too young to give a fuck, at least for a feature. A TV show could pull it off.

  5. It’s hard to believe any man in his right mind would cheat on Keira Knightley with Eva Mendes. Sure, Eva is pretty, but she falls under the category “pretty with makeup and expert lighting.” Keira is a natural 10. Cheat on Keira? You should have your head examined.

  6. What a juvenile digression. Or, hey, I know: How about they’re both insanely beautiful and sexy, and people just have different preferences? Jesus. Keira is far more in my wheelhouse (younger, rail-thin, Caucasian, British, less classically “voluptuous,” which I’m not into), but it’s not like someone’s an asshole for thinking Eva Mendes is smoking hot.

    ORDER OF HOTNESS, LAST NIGHT VERSION:

    Keira

    Worthington (LOOK AT HIM!!!!!!!!!!)

    Mendes

  7. “but it’s not like someone’s an asshole for thinking Eva Mendes is smoking hot.”

    95% of the readership undoubtedly thanks you for that reassurance.

    Good review, but kind of an uncomfortable read with the father-son tension on the subject of “cheating”…

  8. Nice to see nepotism still exists in the movie review world. Sadly Jett’s review focuses on mundane bullshit rather than the actual film in question a la Harry Knowles.

  9. “… kind of an uncomfortable read”

    Granted. But that’s its strength. If Norman Mailer were around to blog (circa Advertisements for Myself)… he would have linked to this.

  10. I thought it was common knowledge by now that cheating has nothing to do about the hotness of the spouse being betrayed…it’s the thrill of the new and unfamiliar.

    Or, to quote that delightful phrase, “Show me the hottest married woman in the world and I’ll show you the husband who’s bored of…” well, you get the idea.

  11. “I had forgotten what a truly fascinating structure the human skeleton was. ”

    Shut up, it’s called WHAT WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE: Thin and small-breasted. Also known as the hottest look for a woman to have.

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