Last Chance Harvey |  | Director: Joel Hopkins
Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Kathy Baker, Liane Balaban
Studio: Starz
Category: Movie
This item is no longer available
Rating:  124 reviews
Sales Rank: 9196
Genre: Art House
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 93 Minutes
ASIN: B002AQYZSK
Theatrical Release Date: May 21, 2009
Release Date: November 23, 2009
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| Synopsis:
Harvey Shine is in London for the weekend for his daughter's wedding. His work in New York preoccupies him: he writes music for ads, and he knows his boss is pushing him aside for younger talent. With family he's also on the sidelines - long divorced, his wife remarried, her husband closer to his daughter than he. His path crosses that of Kate Walker, unmarried, her life becoming that of a spinster, set up by friends on blind dates leading nowhere. After Harvey's no good terrible day, he chats Kate up at a Heathrow bar. She's not interested. Where can this conversation lead? Back at his daughter's reception, the step-father rises to give a toast. |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 124
 Subtle but worth it March 7, 2010
John L. Folmar (san francisco, CA United States)
This movie starts off slow and it takes awhile to feel invested in the characters. However, somewhere towards the middle of the movie, I found myself quietly "sucked" into caring about them and eagerly wanted to find out what destiny had in store for them.
Dustin Hoffman stars as Harvey Shine, a seemingly successful jingle composer who has made a good life for himself. However, as the story unfolds, Harvey is quietly depressed, lonely and disappointed with himself that he has never quite measured up in life. We learn that he is divorced and preparing to fly to London to attend his daughter's wedding although he has been alienated from her for some time. To make matters worse, he is told by his boss that the jingle he is working on for a TV advertisement had better be a home run or else. Arriving in London, Harvey crosses paths with Emma Thompson's character Kate Walker, a survey taker at Heathrow airport. In a hurry, Harvey brushes her off and we soon learn that Kate is no stranger to disappointment with her life as well. Hurt one too many times, Kate would like to meet that special someone but really isn't willing to risk being hurt anymore and instead spends her time reading, hanging out with friends and checking on her mother who lives alone. Like Harvey, she too is quietly sad, lonely and depressed, facing the reality that she may never know fulfillment. Both are actually good and capable people but somewhere along the line inertia set in and they let the losses in their lives overwhelm them, living each day with regret rather than seeking their true dreams and desires.
As the movie progresses, Harvey and Kate struggle with more disappointment when their paths cross once again. It is here when the movie begins to get interesting. Harvey and Kate do not make an instant love connection. In fact, they make anything but. What unfolds is actually a tender and honest portrait of a friendship in the making that may or may not lead to a physically romantic relationship. It is this developing friendship, this tentative sharing with one another about each's hopes, dreams and yes, losses, that provides the drama for the movie. Some people may not like this movie because, like Harvey and Kate, it takes some investment to realize its payoff. The drama that builds is more subtle than earth shattering. But, because of this, the story is much more plausible and as such, the ending much more rewarding and fulfilling than many other romantic comedies/dramas.
 Let's take a walk... January 25, 2010
Jared B. Tremper (Chicago, IL United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For those looking for a fast-paced, ultra-modern, and formulaic romantic comedy feel free to run back to the bad acting, effects-laden Hollywood tripe so often produced for an unimaginative audience. If, however, you are looking for a thoughtful and surprisingly human story, then Last Chance Harvey deserves your attention. Rather than finding this movie slow and boring, my wife and I felt compelled to stay up past our bedtime because we simply couldn't fall asleep until it was over.
Yes, the movie moves at a walking pace--that's part of its charm! We should rediscover the skills of paying attention to a real story that does not require the aide of special effects and heart-pounding action. Simply put, the story itself is beautiful and wonderfully acted. Its true-to-life and a worthy addition to one's movie library if one has an eye for art rather than mere amusement.
Taking chances January 17, 2010
Linda (CT, United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Harvey is a failed American husband, father, and musician who flies to London to attend the wedding of his only daughter. Kate is a lonely English woman who had spent her life playing it safe and expecting disappointment. When their paths happen to cross, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate, and they spend the rest of the day walking about London together. Kate is attracted to Harvey's simple, humorous chatting-up approach, and he likes her straightforwardness. Over the course of two days, these two "failures" form a bond that just may last.
Hoffman and Thompson turn in a pair of subtly nuanced, genuine performances in which each "becomes" their character, allowing the audience to forget that they're actors. In keeping with the overall mood of the piece, lighting and backgrounds are consistently muted, while supporting performances are competent yet ancillary. Last Chance Harvey is a wistful, gentle, and appealing little romance, perfect for spending a quiet evening at home. No bells and whistles here.
Fairly well done and often quite observant January 13, 2010
Steve (Virginia)
Last Chance Harvey was a movie that was equal parts uncomfortable and sad as well as uplifting and hopeful. The beginning was very difficult to watch as we are introduced to the main characters via their painfully dull, lonely, and self-defeating lives. Kate is a poll taker in an airport and Harvey is a jingle writer fighting for his job. Single, lonely, and socially inept, these two happen to run into each other through the circumstances of plot and the movie begins to finally pick up.
If fact, the movie seems to bottom out just before it picks up, exactly as the lives of these characters do. I was close to stopping it, I'll be very honest. Watching Dustin Hoffman's Harvey play out his schleppy downtrodden life was cringing. Thompson's Kate is a bit less grating, but either way, the director goes to great lengths to let you know that these are two thoroughly defeated people.
After their second meeting, the two strike up a relationship and therein the movie begins the redemptive part. There was genuine warmth and a sense of hope finally blooming for these two sad people. I felt the ending was tacked on, however, and that the movie could've ended ten or fifteen minutes earlier without the forced tension and syrupy ending, but that's Hollywood.
Last Chance Harvey has some very good observations about marginalized dads in divorce that part spoke to me loud and clear. Furthermore, there are salient points about remorse over life choices, as well as how easy it seems to retreat to our miserable world for the sheer but sad comfort of it. Using older people was necessary as credulity would've been strained otherwise. I had to believe that these two people had fallen so far below the radar that getting back into life would seem uncomfortable and difficult.
While not perfect, this movie was good enough to certainly rent and then see about purchasing it from there. I picked up my copy used for a few dollars and it is worth the small price tag. It's predictable but also satisfying.
 Not what I expected December 27, 2009
CW
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
I kept thinking this movie had hit its low point. It couldn't get worse, but I was repeatedly wrong. It kept getting worse and worse. I actually began laughing when the movie hit new low points.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 124
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