Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is hanging onto his career as a music writer for commercials when he travels to London to attend his daughter’s wedding. Kate (Emma Thompson) is a British woman whose mother, friends, job, and extracurricular activities, but not romance, take up her time. These two meet at low points, but a romantic connection begins to develop and seems to improve their lives in a lot of ways.

CRITIQUE

The accepted wisdom is that Hollywood is obsessed with youth. When actors stop looking young (or at least not old) on screen, they are relegated to supporting parts. This particularly applied to love stories. Happily, things slowly seem to be moving away from this narrow mindset, and this film is an example of that. Stellar acting from legends in Last Chance Harvey is only the most conspicuous part of a film that also has a touching, romantic script and solid direction.

London has made a wonderful backdrop for some cinematic romances in recent years, which often involve British and American characters falling in love. Use of the city here is less overt than in other films, though, but it’s still quite romantic.

Harvey and Kate meet first at Heathrow, but it is not a “meet cute”- he rudely avoids the public questionnaire Kate gives to various airport patrons as part of her job. Then, they speak again at a bar in the airport, which goes much better, and head out into the city together. The Thames and various examples of wonderful architecture make notable appearances, but these simply enhance the freshness of the story we see.

Pathos blended alongside humor sets a tone that suit’s a more mature romance playing out, and that is what is most unique about this narrative. Downbeat moments stack up for Harvey until he has his first conversation with Kate, which injects a feeling of hope into the film. The truthful, delicate interplay between Harvey and Kate feels utterly real. Particularly the final scene - Kate’s tearful confrontation with Harvey is stunning and all-too relatable.

Of course, Thompson’s performance is a big part of this. It is always gratifying to see someone good at what they do work their magic, and Thompson definitely qualifies. Hoffman does as well, and together they are quite effective. They are legends for a reason after all.

The rest of the cast includes Kathy Baker and James Brolin, so Hoffman and Thompson have the support they deserve. Last Chance Harvey is warm and uplifting, filled with superb performances and adept direction.

THE VIDEO

Anchor Bay presents Last Chance Harvey in both widescreen and full screen versions on separate discs; strange. The anamorphic widescreen presentation is superior for home viewing, and features an excellent transfer.

THE AUDIO

Anchor Bay presents Last Chance Harvey in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. No foreign language tracks are on the discs, but there are English and Spanish subtitles available.

THE EXTRAS

An Unconventional Love Story: The Making of Last Chance Harvey: Interviews from director Hopkins and the cast are mostly what make up this good behind-the-scenes doc. Aside from the expected yet deserved praise going around, there are some great comments on what the film is about- love after a certain age. It’s extremely refreshing to hear that a story NOT about young beautiful people falling in love can still be romantic and an entertainment experience that audiences will want.

Audio Commentary: Hopkins, Hoffman, and Thompson join together for a great track. Hoffman is very serious, discussing character and plot very intelligently, as does Thompson, though her speaking style is much more loose and upbeat. For example, Thompson marvels that the women her age in the wedding scene were so thin. (You go girl!) We also learn that the intercutting between Harvey and Kate’s stories at the beginning of the film was something that happened in editing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Last Chance Harvey, in script, direction, and performance, is truly a fresh and romantic film. Audiences’ emotions will be touched through the story and the acting of Hoffman and Thompson. There are few extras on this disc but they are good ones, so many will want to buy this love story. Everyone should at least rent Last Chance Harvey.