Post by StevePulaski on Aug 17, 2018 21:17:23 GMT -5
The Last Movie Star (2018)
Directed by: Adam Rifkin
Directed by: Adam Rifkin
Former actor Vic Edwards (Burt Reynolds) meets his driver Lil (Ariel Winter) in The Last Movie Star.
Rating: ★★★½
Film is an eminently personal medium. Starting at the writing phase, with the right amount of honest self-reflection, tonal consistency, and emotional authenticity, the end result could be a film that one can both feel themselves and recognize as a deeply personal work. The Last Movie Star is clearly a personal film for both its lead actor and director for vastly different reasons. For director Adam Rifkin, it's a thoughtful project and a dream collaboration while serving as yet another showcase of his technical intuitiveness. For Burt Reynolds, it's a pithy point of introspection of where he, as an actor and as a person, recalls where he has been and where he's going, with both providing an uneven amount of pain and solace.
In his first marquee role in quite sometime, Burt Reynolds stars as Vic Edwards, an aging Hollywood actor who has grown more contemplative and somber with age. He spends his days tucked away in his gated home, going about a simple, unremarkable routine of grocery shopping and having an occasional lunch with a longtime friend (Chevy Chase). Upon receiving an invitation to accept a lifetime achievement honor at a Nashville film festival, Vic scoffs it off pretty quickly. He never explicitly says it, but we infer his apprehension stems from the event being another moment where he has to observe his glory days while simultaneously being hounded by adoring fans. It's something he would've undoubtedly loved in his 30's. In his 70's, he can't think of a worse way to spend an evening.
Nonetheless, he bites the bullet, flies to Tennessee, and is picked up by Lil (Ariel Winter), the surly sister of Doug (Clark Duke), who is running the festival. When Vic arrives at the festival, he sees it's nothing more than a gathering of film nerds on their phones at a local dive-bar. Vic is both infuriated and uncomfortable throughout the whole thing, later responding by getting drunk and lashing out at Doug and his pals who put the show together. The following day, instead of leaving, Vic decides to have Lil drive him out to Knoxville to see his childhood home, therein recounting his younger days the way he'd rather be forced to remember them.
Reynolds' performance is a great one; thoughtful and pensive with an added edge. One gets the idea that when he sometimes struggles to move around with a walking cane, it's less acting and more the natural forces of age creeping up on the now-82-year-old actor. In his heyday, Reynolds was a bold mix of charisma and swagger. An unrivaled sex symbol who could both charm the hell out of you and intimidate you depending on what film in which you saw him. Presently, however, Reynolds is trying to grapple with what has been a life most would ostensibly envy. He had money, fame, and any woman he ever wanted. Now, you might be hardpressed to differentiate him from your grandfather if you saw him at a saloon on any given evening.
If it's confusing as to whether or not I'm talking about Burt Reynolds or Vic Edwards, that shows how closely intertwined the actor and the character are. The Last Movie Star is a compelling vehicle because as much as it is an opportunity for Reynolds to be confrontational — quite literally, as I'll soon explain — to his younger self, it's a thoughtful examination of our grand perceptions of celebrities crumbling once magnified. It's one thing to watch a womanizer manifest into an even more selfish cad. It's quite another to see him guiltily reflect on what he now perceives as wrongdoings, on top of how he found and fumbled love numerous times and went on to alienate those around him. Reynolds treads bravely, confidently throughout the entire movie — the only way he knows how as a performer.
Neither Reynolds nor Rifkin is treacly when profiling this complex introspection. A truly underrated craftsman and uniquely gifted soul when it comes to implementing technology in his films, Rifkin and editor Dan Flesher allow Reynolds to confront his younger self by splicing footage of the present-day man into old footage (specifically Smokey and the Bandit and Deliverance). To some, the end result might be tacky. For those who know Rifkin, it's nothing out of the ordinary and actually quite laudable. After making an entire film shot from security camera footage and another that featured a madman doing commentary over a film he made, Rifkin still finds subtle yet innovative ways to get his technology fix, doing so here in a comparably modest yet effective way.
It also shouldn't be understated the wealth of acting talent on display. Of course you have the talented Reynolds, but alongside him is a very capable Ariel Winter, a quirky, charming Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), the aforementioned Chevy Chase, the delightful Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray), and Rifkin-mainstay Miles Dougal in a quick but humorous shot. It's a collection of multi-generational performers with distinctive performing styles and Rifkin doesn't miss a beat in accentuating the skillset of his cast.
The Last Movie Star has two keenly human scenes that show its tenderness and personal-side. The first comes when Vic Edwards is traipsing through his old home, eventually stopping at the kitchen and envisioning his mother cooking and calling his name. It's a moment of understated emotion and sympathy Reynolds achieves simply by the look on his face. The second is a much more obvious one that comes late in the film in a nursing home. Rifkin rarely gravitates towards sentimentality in his films, and it's nice to see that his prowess doesn't allow for making a film that's emotionally manipulative. This is a complex character study of a character that's so lifelike because he is in fact real.
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, Clark Duke, Ellar Coltrane, Chevy Chase, Kathleen Nolan, Nikki Blonsky, Al-Jaleel Knox, and Miles Dougal. Directed by: Adam Rifkin.