Last Looks Review
Last Looks (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Tim Kirkby and starring Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson, Lucy Fry, Rupert Friend, Morena Baccarin, Jacob Scipio, Clancy Brown, David Pasquesi, Sophie Fatu, Robin Givens, Xen Sams, CC Castillo, Method Man, Dominic Monaghan, Deacon Randle, Paul Ben-Victor, Josh McDermitt and Michael Otis.
Director Tim Kirkby attempts to bring the detective movie genre back to life with Last Looks, an exercise in banality which is somewhat redeemed by Charlie Hunnam’s strong leading performance. Howard Michael Gould wrote the script and the novel on which it is based so from a writing standpoint, the movie is probably faithful in many respects to its source material. However, the miscasting of Mel Gibson in the film’s most pivotal role is a mistake the movie cannot overcome thus making the movie a little too implausible to enjoy.
This movie opens with, perhaps, the most recycled character-type of all-time. It’s the down-on-his-luck, good-looking guy who is great at what he does but just needs that big break to prove it. Meet Charlie Waldo (Hunnam), a one-time top detective for the LAPD. He now lives in the woods, is unshaven, and only owns 100 things total. He even rides a bicycle around town as his primary choice of transportation and as the picture’s story begins, his old girlfriend, Lorena (Morena Baccarin) shows up with a proposition to get him out of the slump he is facing in his life. A TV star has been accused of murdering his wife and Lorena needs Charlie’s expertise to help prove his innocence. This television actor Lorena speaks of is named Alastair Pinch (Gibson) and he’s an alcoholic who, when on a television shoot, can’t even declare whether or not someone on his legal show is guilty or not guilty. Another recycled character here is Pinch: the wildly, unpredictable male who could or could not be guilty of murdering his wife. He has good sides to his character, to be sure, but that unpredictability makes us wonder whether or not he could have actually done the deed.
Alastair Pinch has a young daughter named Gaby (Sophie Fatu) who looks up to her dad so that automatically hints to the audience that Pinch probably won’t be the culprit, but you never know as the movie introduces a handful of suspicious characters all of whom move the plot forward and it’s a clumsy plot full of banality to be sure. Fontella Davis (Robin Givens), Alastair’s lawyer doesn’t really want Charlie Waldo on the case but television station head honcho, Wilson Sikorsky (Rupert Friend) seems to think it’s a splendid idea to have Waldo on board. Meanwhile, Charlie meets a kindergarten teacher named Jayne White (Lucy Fry) who takes a liking to Charlie and ends up shaving his beard at about the one-hour mark. That scene is time-filler as the movie proceeds to deal the audience red herrings all of which may be intriguing but never lead the audience to a satisfying climax.
A big hint for Charlie to help him crack the case comes when he hears familiar music on a bus that seems to bring him back to the point earlier in the film where he got beaten up by a bunch of young guys. This scene happens right before the opening credits which come an extended 10 minutes into the picture. Method Man serves as a rapper who could help Charlie discover what really happened regarding the death of Pinch’s wife.
All the pieces for a fun detective story are on hand in Last Looks to be sure. Also, let it be said that detective pictures are not my favorite genre so someone who does typically enjoy them may like the film better than I did. That being said, Mel Gibson truly doesn’t succeed very much in his role here. He’s way over-the-top with Pinch even going so far as to beat up a worker on the television show set at one point. This stretches credibility as the character is being accused of murder and really doesn’t mind getting himself in even more hot water. Gibson’s character, Alastair Pinch, never seems to mind that he’s in trouble with the law and floats through the movie like he’s untouchable. As the story progresses, surprises are unveiled but they never feel satisfying, as previously stated, for reasons that have to do with a plot that is threadbare and characters who are all, with the exception of Charlie and Pinch’s daughter, unlikable. This movie is all style with very little dramatic substance.
Charlie Hunnam is a very good actor although the material in Last Looks is not worthy of his presence, yet Hunnam makes us want to see Charlie crack the case whereas in another, lesser film, we may not have cared at all. These type of detective movies aren’t really meant to be simply whodunits and rely a lot on plot twists, and atmosphere to please their viewers. As an audience member, I was concerned with whodunit and that’s the wrong approach to take to this film. I admit it. The revelations of what really happened, though, are very disappointing here and with these kinds of movies, they usually are.
Like Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, you need to have patience with a movie such as Last Looks which is leisurely paced for stylistic purposes. It’s my own personal taste that led to me not truly enjoying this film, subjectively speaking, but I also think Mel Gibson has a lot of work to do as an actor to make a comeback to something resembling his glory days. I’ve seen some of his recent straight-to-video work and that new Lethal Weapon sequel can’t come fast enough to help Gibson regain his box-office thunder. Last Looks is strictly for fans of the detective movie genre and even they may be disappointed by some of the film’s revelations.
Rating: 5/10
Leave your thoughts on this Last Looks review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.