The Last Word

The morass of pain
Another excellent production from ThinkFilms, where the past is dragged along as the future becomes epigrammatic and silent.

Evan (Wes Bentley) chances to earn a modest living writing suicide notes for clients who no longer have the desire or the strength to live. His poetry is in dissonance with his imperturbable and aloof demeanor, which deadens the aura of every frame he is involved in, even the more erotic and moving. However the plot hits a high note when Charlotte catches a glimpse of him at her brother's funeral, whose suicide note was authored by Evan. She does not become acquainted with the nature of Evan's poetic engagements and amid strife and guilt becomes endeared and ultimately enamored with the numb introspective intellectually brooding Evan. Charlotte - here played by Winona Ryder with effortless wit and sophistication, teeming with energy and spontaneity - chases after Evan, for what initially seems to be a means of making amends and an effective way to...

Overlooked Sundance gem from 2008
"The Last Word" tells the improbable story of a standoffish suicide-note writer (Wes Bentley) falling in love with the sister (Winona Ryder) of one of his clients. The more she learns about him, the more she likes him--until she discovers what he does for a living. The best performance in the movie comes from Ray Romano (and I've never been a huge fan of "Everybody Loves Raymond") as a prospective client who works doing background music for schools.

If you can get past the improbability of the basic premise, there is much to enjoy in this movie. Bentley makes his character believable (as much as any one person could), and Ryder gives a lively performance. A good rental with a Sundance pedigree.

AND I REMAIN STILL
Romantic comedy??? Perhaps a romantic dark comedy without too much romance or comedy...although I did find myself laughing a few times. Wes Bently stars as Evan Merak, an aloof person with his own issues. He professionally composes suicide notes like a Russian novelist. He attends the funerals of those who actually go through with the deed, mostly to hear and critique his own composure read out loud.

While attending a funeral he meets the moody Charlotte (Winona Ryder) the sister of a victim. They end up dating. Evan tries to keep his specific relationship with her brother a secret and lies to Charlotte. Charlotte is comparatively unsophisticated, and like Winona she thinks a good date is one that doesn't try to "steal my credit card." (One of my several LOL moments.) In one early scene at a diner she has on no make-up or jewelry then in the next scene she is driving Evan home from said diner and has on her painted face as well as wearing pearls...something she wears later...

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