Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson have appeared together in a film only once before: just two years ago in Stranger Than Fiction, they shared a couple of brief scenes, but the curtain fell before their characters’ nascent relationship was more than merely teased. Their characters in Last Chance Harvey are quite different–neither are as successful or eccentric–but it’s a joy to behold these two great actors as they explore their chemistry for two hours.
The prospects for this couple are hardly auspicious from the start (but this is cinema, so that’s no surprise). Harvey Shine (Hoffman), a composer who writes music for commercials, and whose career seems all but over, is flying to London for his daughter’s wedding. Kate Walker (Thompson) is a grunt working at Heathrow performing traveler surveys. The two meet briefly as she approaches him on the concourse with her questionnaire, but he shrugs her off a bit rudely. Not only is he stressed over losing his job, but he’s feeling marginalized in his own family. He’s been booked in a hotel far from the house where “nearly all” of the wedding party is staying, and to make matters worse, his daughter has chosen her stepfather to give her away.
Kate’s life isn’t too much better. She’s no stranger to frustration in her love life, despite endless attempts to set her up on blind dates. Though she manages to be warm and personable, her vulnerability is palpable. Finally, after a tortuous first act after which it seems all is lost for both, they meet again at an airport bar, and Harvey tries to woo her with his apologetic charm. And things start to get more cheerful from there.
It’s easy to feel an affinity with these characters, and it’s refreshing to see a good romance story between real adults, and not twenty-something meet-cutes. Even London felt familiar for me in this film–I’ve spent probably a combined total of 40 hours in the city, but much of that time I walked in the same footsteps as Harvey, right down to the moment he’s told he’s missed his flight home when there’s still 40 minutes before the plane takes off. That was frustrating. Good thing for him, though–he knows a friend who works at Heathrow. – [DVD]
Drama/Romance
Rated PG-13
DVD Release Date: 5/5/09