While browsing Netflix looking for some basic entertainment to fill a few hours I noticed this film in my recommended items. It's setting (New York) and premise sounded exactly like the kind of thing I'd enjoy, so I decided I'd give it a try.
The most remarkable thing about the film is how quickly it's appeal wears thin within it's brief 90 minute runtime. 40 minutes in, just as it seems that the guy (Niklas) might get the girl (Ticia) I was already bored and fidgety, carefully watching the bar to see how much longer there was left until the end.
While Nicole Beharie turns in an excellent performance as the aspiring musician, her potential romantic partner, played by Ken Duken, comes off as a German Christian Gray; good looks but not much personality. His dialogue is at times incoherent, partially due to his accent but mostly down to the quiet tone of his voice, forcing me to watch most of the film with the subtitles on. The expression on his face is an almost constant puppy dog look with his head cocked to one side, maybe endearing to women (or men) who like that kind of thing, but to the ordinary viewer it simply makes him incredibly punchable.
The subplot between the Pastor and Luz was also a mistake, mainly due to the fact that I didn't know enough about the characters to care what happened to them. It might have made a difference if the audience found out how long the pastor had been widowed and how his wife had died, but I doubt it worth the amount of screen time it was given.
The film was very well shot, with a very picturesque quality to the establishing shots and a gorgeous warm look to the film.
My Last Day Without You is a beautiful looking film with some funny spots, a good soundtrack and an excellent performance by one of the leading actors which ultimately comes across as trying to hard to be like the infinitely better Before Sunrise, but without the fantastic script, likable, realistic and witty characters and memorable resolution. While Before Sunrise made you feel like the characters could actually work together, the clichéd ending of My Last Day Without You left me feeling unsatisfied, believing that the characters will never work together as they haven't truly grown and learnt the lesson about courage that the film is presenting. In fact the irony of the film is that for all its talk about having the courage to take risks, it follows the feel-good Rom-Com pattern to the letter, not taking any risks with the story or themes and leaving the film overall feeling empty.
The most remarkable thing about the film is how quickly it's appeal wears thin within it's brief 90 minute runtime. 40 minutes in, just as it seems that the guy (Niklas) might get the girl (Ticia) I was already bored and fidgety, carefully watching the bar to see how much longer there was left until the end.
While Nicole Beharie turns in an excellent performance as the aspiring musician, her potential romantic partner, played by Ken Duken, comes off as a German Christian Gray; good looks but not much personality. His dialogue is at times incoherent, partially due to his accent but mostly down to the quiet tone of his voice, forcing me to watch most of the film with the subtitles on. The expression on his face is an almost constant puppy dog look with his head cocked to one side, maybe endearing to women (or men) who like that kind of thing, but to the ordinary viewer it simply makes him incredibly punchable.
The subplot between the Pastor and Luz was also a mistake, mainly due to the fact that I didn't know enough about the characters to care what happened to them. It might have made a difference if the audience found out how long the pastor had been widowed and how his wife had died, but I doubt it worth the amount of screen time it was given.
The film was very well shot, with a very picturesque quality to the establishing shots and a gorgeous warm look to the film.
My Last Day Without You is a beautiful looking film with some funny spots, a good soundtrack and an excellent performance by one of the leading actors which ultimately comes across as trying to hard to be like the infinitely better Before Sunrise, but without the fantastic script, likable, realistic and witty characters and memorable resolution. While Before Sunrise made you feel like the characters could actually work together, the clichéd ending of My Last Day Without You left me feeling unsatisfied, believing that the characters will never work together as they haven't truly grown and learnt the lesson about courage that the film is presenting. In fact the irony of the film is that for all its talk about having the courage to take risks, it follows the feel-good Rom-Com pattern to the letter, not taking any risks with the story or themes and leaving the film overall feeling empty.