RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

willcundallreview Last Orders is a British set comedy drama about a bunch of friends who have been asked to scatter their late friend's ashes in the seaside town of Margate. The story is a sober but enjoyable one and although the film is maybe a little dull at times, it still manages to be one of reflection and humour that are very well mixed together. Starring such actors as Michael Caine, Helen Mirren, Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone, this is one film with a real Crème de la crème of British talent and also one that for some people could be a real highlight.As said I did feel the plot plays out a little boring at moments but it never gets so dragged down in dullness that it becomes bad. The whole tone is never really happy even in the well, happiest of times, something always seems to come a long to make the moment a little sadder and this is one reason I couldn't ever love this film. Having said that all the sadness surrounding the passing of Michael Caine's character Jack and the spreading of his ashes is one of fine characters, each with unique personalities and back stories which interweave into each other's very nicely.I felt of all the acting on show here it is really Helen Mirren who shows off her talent and is just fantastic as Amy(Jack's widow) who is a depressed yet lovable character, caring for her intellectually disabled daughter who has never said a word to her in her life. It is all yet again rather sad but Amy has been created to be just used to it all, even Jack's death we see has bothered but not broken her, she is just a sad person but one who can still have a laugh now and again. Bob Hoskins is good as Ray who is Jack's best mate and he seems to bring a good presence to the screen alongside all the others. One more person to compliment is Ray Winstone as Jack's adopted son Vince, Winstone seems to work the character rather well, blending an honest man with a man who also has demons and anger, brought out a lot by the character of Lenny(David Hemmings).I couldn't help but feel this is a kind of movie that tried to maybe push for awards, and it did work, but maybe not on the level they really wanted. Sure Mirren deserved the credit but as a picture this is nothing special, the kind of movie that is alright don't get me wrong but just not good for numerous reasons. Fred Schepisi is not one of those reasons, I mean I didn't think either his directing or writing were great but importantly they are steady and make the picture one that is a close one, where you connect with the characters, Schepisi really tries to draw you in and make it as if these people are real.I think this movie is the kind of thing that sure, on a quiet Sunday lazing about, this is the kind of thing that may just be very enjoyable. I felt throughout the film goes for the sweet stuff from the first minute with heart and emotion everywhere trying to hit you hard so you too maybe shed a tear. For me this isn't strong enough a movie to make me sad but I do admit there are scenes in it(especially with Mirren in them) that make your heart drop, and the scenes to be fair with her daughter are both heartbreaking but also show us Mirren's complete talent.

btm1 Perhaps because I don't, it always amazes me how well some really good authors (Shakespeare of course, and Ann Tyler come to mind) understand the complexities of the human condition. Fred Schepisi wrote the screenplay for "Last Orders" (he also is the Director) based on the Booker prize winning novel of the same name by Graham Swift. That is what this film is about - the complexities of people's dealings with each other and dealing with their own thoughts, plans, memories, and regrets.The title refers to a request Jack (double Oscar winner Michael Cain) left for his ashes to be scattered at Margate (a historic British seaside resort). Jack had an outwardly effervescent personality that caused friends he had made in his youth (he came of age just before the start of World War II) to remain life-long friends. Despite the war, in many ways those years of beginning their adult lives were the best in these people's lives. Perhaps that is the case for the majority of people.They had their futures to look forward to. One was a prizefighter who never had more than modest success. Another (the most steadfast of the friends) starts out as a funeral director and that seems to satisfy his desires. Jack, a butcher, inherited his business from his father and always dreamed that his own son would enter the business as well, but that's not what the son wants. He and his wife, Amy (Dame Helen Mirren), also have a mentally defective daughter who has been institutionalized since childhood. One of the significant conflicts is that Jack and Amy have opposite ways of dealing with that tragedy. Amy decides not to accompany the group when they take the ashes to Margate.Ray (Bob Hoskins), who Jack nicknamed "Lucky" because he pulled Jack into a trench half a second before a bullet would have struck him, owned a motorcar business but is more interested in playing the horses, with which he has had some success. He has a daughter who many years ago moved to distant Australia after falling in love with an Australian of questionable prospects, and they stopped writing years ago. Ray's wife had divorced him after she learned that Ray had assisted the newlyweds financially in their move to Australia.These loves and conflicts are revealed piecemeal via flashbacks as the individuals contemplate, and it is our coming to realize that relationships are more complex than what they seem on the surface.Not only is the screenplay based on a great novel, the cast is an ensemble of some of the most respected British actors, who all are great in their roles. They cast JJ Feild as the youthful Jack, and he strongly resembles Michael Caine in his early films. One warning: Some of the British colloquialisms and references may be unfamiliar to an American audience.

daviddouglas This is a well told poignant story with a collection of great actors unsurpassed in any films of the past 10 years. Other than the regrettable casting of Kelly Reilly, a good actress, in the roll of the young Amy played by Helen Mirren who looks nothing like Helen Mirren nor has similar body language or general presence to her. However; this one small flaw does not keep this from being a very memorable film experience for the viewer.This well-crafted film has the appeal of being a learning experience as well as one of entertainment. I am a 'baby boomer' and most of us are coming to grips that life is a limited proposition and that the truth of life is that if one has made good friends and brought joy to the lives of others that we have lived a rich and full life and can face death without regret. If you have not seen this film watch it. If you have only seen it once, see it again as the second time viewing is even more rich with new learning and reward.

Lee Eisenberg Featuring a whole slew of England's most acclaimed stars, "Last Orders" focuses on a man's death and cremation, and how his friends and family remember their lives with him. As is common in British films, there's the issue of class, and how the characters have to stick by each other no matter what. The title refers to the man's last wishes that he get cremated and have his ashes scattered in the sea.Overall, this is a display of the cast members and director doing what they do best. To be certain, Fred Schepisi has turned out many good movies (e.g., "A Cry in the Dark" and "Fierce Creatures"), so he needn't try stuff like "It Runs in the Family". But anyway, Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone do a perfect job.