Note for the readers who haven’t seen it:
I won’t give any spoilers, and the premise of the movie is so simple that feel free to read and comment on the post even if you haven’t seen the film. It is all about fidelity, love, romance, sexual attraction and cheating.
Last Night Premise:
Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington) are a young, British, married couple living in New York. Joanna is a freelance writer, while Michael has an office job. Their only problem seems to be Laura (Eva Mendes), Michael’s attractive colleague. Joanna is sure that Laura wants Michael, and is not very happy at the idea of the two of going on a business trip together. Michael assures Joanna that nothing is going on and goes off to his trip.
Joanna’s worries leave her when she runs into Alex (Guillaume Canet), her ex French boyfriend who she was never quite over. They agree to meet at night, for a couple of drinks.
In the meantime, Laura and Michael also decide to go for a couple of drinks after the meeting.
From this point on, we get to know more about Alex and Joanna’s past, their connection and how Alex is still very smitten with her. Will the fact that Alex has a girlfriend in France, or that that Joanna is married, be enough to stop them?
Aand will Michael finally cave in to the sexy Laura’s advances? Michael tries to decide between his conscience and his sexual attraction. Which will take over?
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Verdict
Last Night has a very simple, yet humane premise. It refrains from making the characters from being hard to relate to, or unlikable (although I did manage to hate Laura). We have a young couple who is supposedly still in love have one night apart. Michael will either fight off or give in to the appeal of a one night stand. Joanna will give either give in to her feelings to Alex, or resist him for Michael. Or maybe she will swim in highly grey waters….
There are 4 options, really: Both or neither will cheat, either Michael or Joanna cheat.
The acting makes it watchable. I mentioned the characters relatable. You don’t have to live in a nice New York flat to be able to be intrigued dilemmas: love vs. sex, loyalty vs. impulse, the idea that a person might still be in love with person while sexually wanting other, and the idea that a person can be simultaneously in love with two men.
Well, the romantic in me rejected both theories. The skeptical in me believed that both parties were equally likely to cheat. I won’t tell you the outcome. But let’s discuss theories, opinions, and experiences both about real life, and these movies’ characters anyway.
Who do you think will cheat? What would you do if you were one of these 4 characters? And if you have seen the movie, spoil away. I allow spoilers in the comments: )
Written and directed by Massy Tadjedin. Made in 2010
Currently rated at 6.6 on IMDB. I give it a 6.
Also on Keira Knightley
Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen