A cop who moved to woods to live a minimalist life after his career went South is called back to his previous life to investigate a star’s wife’s murder. The actor is the prime suspects, but it may not be so simple.
Written by Howard Michael Gould, based on his own novel, and directed by Tim Kirkby, this film is a whodunnit with a lot of familiar faces involved and a lot of potential killers. The way the story develops along with the film’s runtime feels a bit predictable, but it’s also fairly enjoyable. This is nothing really new, but it’s not really an issue here. The film has an energy about it that clearly comes from the writing and the directing, but also the cast, and it’s an easy watch. While it is an easy watch, the revelation at the end will catch some by surprise and others will have seen it coming. As it is, this is not the most important part of this film as the proceedings are more the point than the ending itself.
The cast here is led by Charlie Hunnam and Mel Gibson, with Lucy Fry, Rupert Friend, Morena Baccarin, Clancy Brown, Robin Givens, Dominic Monaghan, Method Man, etc. This is a film filled with familiar faces who all do good work here, mostly. Some decisions in acting and in character development are a bit puzzling, like Mel Gibson’s seemingly Bristish accent that seems uneven, and how he plays a Southern judge in the tv show within the movie, it all comes off odd at times, but eventually, they can be forgotten as the story takes hold and shows all of its cards, one at a time.
The film looks really good here, a bit glossy, brightly colored. It almost feels like a film from the early 2000s or even the mid-late-80s. There is something about it that sets a mood, something here is almost happy while everything goes down with the investigation, the beatings, the death of a woman. This is the kind of film that feels Hollywood without feeling Hollywood at the same time, but also while taking place in Hollywood the city and the industry. There is something extra glossy here and it works for the film and story.
Last Looks is a decently entertaining whodunnit film with a cast where every single viewer will at least recognize 2 or 3 people. These people play parts that are expected in some case and really unexpected in others. This is the kind of film that one would have picked up based on its colorful cover at the video store without knowing a single thing about it except what the box shows. It’s not the greatest, but it’s also entertaining at the same time. It has an energy that makes the viewer want to watch the whole thing and see where it goes.