Last Orders (DVD)

...have to carry out his last orders - to have his ashes scattered off Margate Pier. Son Vince arranges the car and travels down to Margate with Ray, Vic and Lenny - wife Amy, for some reason, doesn't want to go with them. On the trip, the four men recall their life with Jack, and reflect on what he meant to them, whilst discovering what is important in life. But why has Amy decided not to go? And what does the future hold for everyone?

...he nevertheless is an important character who frequently appears in the film in a series of flashbacks. Played by Michael Caine, we find that Jack is a man who is larger than life, and a great friend to many. He does, however, have at least one fault - the main one is that he refuses to admit that he has a daughter called Jean, who is mentally ill and has spent most of her life in a home. This is one of Michael Caine's understated performances - ... more

Jack Dodd's death leaves a hole in the lives of his wife, son and friends, but before they can start to live their lives again, they have to carry out his last orders - to have his ashes scattered off Margate Pier. Son Vince arranges the car and travels down to Margate with Ray, Vic and Lenny - wife Amy, for some reason, doesn't want to go with them. On the trip, the four men recall their life with Jack, and reflect on what he meant to them, whilst discovering what is important in life. But why has Amy decided not to go? And what does the future hold for everyone?

Although Jack is already dead when the film begins, he nevertheless is an important character who frequently appears in the film in a series of flashbacks. Played by Michael Caine, we find that Jack is a man who is larger than life, and a great friend to many. He does, however, have at least one fault - the main one is that he refuses to admit that he has a daughter called Jean, who is mentally ill and has spent most of her life in a home. This is one of Michael Caine's understated performances - I didn't really feel that he was stretched in the role - but it is a moving one nevertheless, as the layers that make Jack up are revealed during the course of the film. JJ Feild plays the young Jack, looking enough like a young version of Michael Caine to be convincing.

Bob Hoskins gives another understated performance as Jack's close friend Ray. In some ways, I think this is the better performance - Ray is very much in Jack's shadow, but there is something very heart-warming about him, and I think Hoskins did a great job in portraying this. It is a while since I've seen Hoskins in anything, and this was a great reminder of what a fine actor he is, given half the chance. The young Ray is played by Anatol Yusef, who didn't particularly look like Hoskins - I would never have guessed it was him if he hadn't been introduced - but it didn't really stand out as a glaring fault.

Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone are fabulous as Jack's wife, Amy, and foster son, Vince. Mirren is far from her glamorous self here, particularly around the time of Jack's death, and her London accent is very prominent. She pulls it off though, giving a totally believable performance as a grieving widow with some reservations about her dead husband. Kelly Reilly plays her younger self, and doesn't really look anything like Mirren, but is convincing enough in the short time that she is on the screen. I love Ray Winstone in more or less everything he does. Here, he has the chance to show his softer side in his grief for his father, and he does it brilliantly.

Tom Courtenay and David Hemmings play Jack's friends, Vic and Lenny. They gave solid enough performances, but I was a bit disappointed that we didn't find out more about their history with Jack - not the actors' fault of course. The film is based on Graham Swift's book of the same name, and it may be that their story is told in more detail there. Whatever, I kept waiting for their roles to be discussed in more depth, only to find that, apart from the odd flashback, we don't really find out much about them.

This is a film about death, life and the importance of our actions. However, it isn't really a deeply serious film. Of course, there is always the knowledge that someone has just died because his friends are carrying him around in an urn, but it is more a celebration of his life rather than a depressing 'what's the point of it all' story. There are odd moments of humour, particularly in the flashbacks to when Jack was virile and full of life, but it can't really be classed as a comedy either. I think it is a gentle, intelligent, poignant look at death and how we should live life to the full while it is still possible. At no point is it boring or dull, despite the subject matter.

The story is told in a really interesting way, and it is probably because of this that it isn't dull. The four men are in a car on the way to Margate; Amy is visiting her daughter, and they are all remembering Jack as he was. Meetings between Amy and Ray, who are obviously close, also fill in some of the gaps. At first, I found the story quite hard to follow because it keeps leaping around, not necessarily in chronological order, and because it isn't always obvious who the younger versions of the main characters are. After a while though, it all begins to make sense and I really enjoyed finding out snippets of information about Jack, his family and friends in this way.

There are a number of special features. The most interesting is a documentary made up of interviews with Fred Schepisi, the director, and the main characters - it isn't exactly ground-breaking, but it is worth watching if you get the chance. The others are rather mundane - a theatrical trailer (yawn), behind the scenes footage, a biography of Graham Swift, the author of the book on which the film is based, and an image gallery.

I really enjoyed this film. It is a gentle, compelling story of everyday peoples' lives, and I found it poignant and fascinating. Of course, if action is your thing, then you may be disappointed, and I suspect that it will be appreciated more by people in their thirties and over - death is not exactly a topic that the very young think of all that often. Don't be put off by thinking that it is going to be depressing though - it is really quite life-affirming and uplifting. Definitely recommended.

Classification: 15 (for minor sex scenes)

Running time: 109 minutes 

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