It's about first loves, last chances and everything in between (Last Chance Harvey (DVD))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Last Chance Harvey (DVD)
Date:	14/06/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great chemistry between Hoffman and Thompson, romantic and inspiring

Disadvantages: Quite slow

Harvey Shine lives a lonely life in New York, writing jingles for a living. When his daughter, who now lives in London, plans to get married, Harvey begrudgingly leaves the country planning to leave as soon as the happy couple have said their vows to get back for an important meeting. When he arrives in London he realises that he's been excluded from the house which has been hired for the wedding and is staying in a hotel by himself. Then, after finding out that his daughter is going to ask her step-father to give her away on her wedding day, Harvey becomes even more distant towards her.

After missing his flight back to New York and consequently getting fired, Harvey miserably makes his way to the airport bar to drown his sorrows. Here he meets a lonely woman, Kate Walker, and they hit it off straight away. Spending the rest of the day together, Kate persuades Harvey to return to his daughter's wedding reception and she willingly tags along with him. A wonderful connection brings these two unexpected strangers together in a romantic and inspiring journey.

~ Cast ~
Harvey Shine - Dustin Hoffman
Kate Walker - Emma Thompson

This isn't the usual type of film I'm attracted to but, as I have a Cineworld Unlimited card, I thought I'd give it a try.

The chemistry between Hoffmann and Thompson was brilliant - the character of Kate, a friendly yet miserable spinster, tired of looking after her mother and going from one blind date to the next, and Harvey, a lonely ambitious man, detached from his work and outcast by his own family. Yet the fact that they are both lonely and looking for something a little more in life connects them in a way in which they never thought possible. Hoffman's sweet elfish smile along with Thompson's sweet and dainty ways makes them a great couple.

The film was fairly slow and quiet but I found this surprisingly nice in comparison with the action and noise of other films that are out at the moment. The film was very true to life with many moments which, although not hilarious, were made very funny with the realness of them and the fact that the same things actually happen in real life. I was fairly surprised when my husband said he wanted to see this as it's not his usual type of thing at all, but I was even more surprised when we came out of the film with him saying he'd really enjoyed it, and so had I. He's never enjoyed films like this before which shows that Last Chance Harvey, although a little slow and uneventful, has something about it, whether it's the reality of the film or the chemistry between the two main actors, or maybe just because it is a wonderfully romantic film showing that great things can happen in life when you least expect them.

Running time: 93 minutes
Certificate rating: 12A
Director: Joel Hopkins

Summary: Wonderfully romantic and inspiring real to life film