Last Chance Harvey (2008) 8/10

Starring : Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Kathy Baker, Lian Balaban, James Brolin
Director : Joel Hopkins
Running Time : 93 mins

New York jingle writer Harvey Shine (Hoffman) travels to London for his daughter’s wedding, only to find that he isn’t particularly welcome, what with her step-father Brian (Brolin) taking over the role of father of the bride. Leaving the festivities, he heads back to the airport, only to receive a call on route telling him that he has been replaced at work as well. As he attempts to drown his sorrows at an airport bar, he meets Kate Walker (Thompson), and the two start to form an unlikely relationship.

I really felt sorry for Hoffman in this movie – everyone in his life treated him like crap, and no-one seemed to have any time for him. Based on this, it really did feel nice to have him form a relationship with someone who actually relied on him doing things, rather than dealing with the likes who didn’t want him around at all. I just couldn’t believe how ungrateful his daughter was, but I’m sure there’s a lot of unspoken background sorry to this turn of events. An interesting film that does have something of a feel-good ending.

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