The Last Day LFF review: Uneven and disappointing dual narrative
I went into The Last Day completely cold, knowing only that it starred Alicia Vikander, Victoria Pedretti and Wagner Moura. That was enough for me. While they’re great, the film itself leaves a lot to be desired.
Rachel Rose‘s feature directorial debut, a loose, modern reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, focuses primarily on Julia (Vikander), a wealthy mother who is running errands in preparation for her annual Fourth of July party that evening. Once a published author, she feels like she’s lost her identity as a writer since becoming a mum.
Then there’s Taylor (Pedretti), a young mum of three children who is holding on by a thread. She suffers from postpartum depression, is preparing to go back to work, has tried different medications and nothing seems to be working yet.
I thought there’d be more of a crossover or a meaningful connection between these two women, but they just meet in passing. That’s it! You shouldn’t attempt a dual narrative piece if you can’t serve both characters well. They both deserve equal time and attention, but Pedretti draws the short straw and has less focus, which is a shame because her story was more serious, dramatic and interesting and had a lot more potential.
I understand Julia is the lead character because that’s how it is in Mrs Dalloway, but it feels weird to focus on a rich woman running errands, getting Botox and bumping into an ex and then cutting to Taylor having the worst day ever. Yes, they are both examinations of motherhood but they’re not remotely on the same level. The fact that Taylor’s story is basically abandoned in favour of Julia’s Fourth of July party actually pissed me off. We are shown little, vague glimpses of her story towards the end, but it’s not clear what happened to her. Did something bad happen? Is she OK? It’s so unfair to leave her story on such a confusing note.
Pedretti gives such an emotionally raw, devastating performance as a struggling, troubled mother. She loves her children but finds every day impossible. Vikander is great too as a woman who has it all (in a materialistic way) but is unsatisfied with the state of her writing career. She has one fantastic sequence with Moura as her ex – and fellow author – Peter. They bump into each other randomly and have a catch-up during a walk in Central Park and old resentments surface. It’s so well written and acted and juicy – I wanted more of that. I wanted that movie!
I was really gutted that the character I was most invested in didn’t get the definitive ending she deserved. Very disappointing!
Showing in the first feature competition at the London Film Festival