Last Orders (DVD)

Jack Dodd's death leaves a hole in the lives of his wife, son and friends, but before they can start to live their lives again, they have to carry out his last orders - to have his ashes scattered off Margate Pier. Son Vince arranges the car and travels down to Margate with Ray, Vic and Lenny - wife Amy, for some reason, doesn't want to go with them. On the trip, the four men recall their life with Jack, and reflect on what he meant to them, whilst discovering what is important in life. But why has Amy decided not to go? And what does the future hold for everyone? Although Jack is already dead when the film begins, he nevertheless is an important character ...  Read the complete review

Based on the novel by Graham Swift, 'Last Orders' is a beautiful film, dangerously unfashionable in its subject matter, but ultimately very persuasive. As if the good people of the UGC Didsbury wanted to really get their punters down, I was given free tickets to see 'Last Orders' when attending a free screening of 'Iris' - given that the latter is about Alzheimers, and the former is about a group of friends taking a journey to Margate Pier to scatter the ashes of a dead friend, you have to wonder what they're up to. But 'Last Orders' isn't a sad film, despite its subject. Michael Caine is Jack Dobbs, a Bermondsey butcher ...  Read the complete review

This film is adapted from Graham Swift's novel of the same name, which won the Booker Prize in 1996. At university last term I did a course on the Booker Prize winners, and as we were doing 'Last Orders' one week, I thought I should rent the film from our library. I really enjoyed the book (as you can see from my review on it), I loved how intricately the characters were drawn; some parts of the narrative were so intimate you felt you could really associate and empathise with each of the characters. The novel is much more character based than plot based, so I was very interested to see how the novel could be translated to the big screen. Basically, ...  Read the complete review

I was fortunate enough to get to see a preview showing of Last Orders, a new British film based on Graham Swift's Booker Prize winning novel. It's directed by Fred Schepisi, perhaps best known for Roxanne, The Russia House, and Fierce Creatures, and has a host of British film stars in its cast. Being a preview showing, I had very little idea of what to expect. The film starts as three friends, Ray (Bob Hoskins), Lenny (David Hemmings) and Vic (Tom Courtenay) meet in their local pub in the east end of London. They're there to carry out the wishes of their drinking friend, Jack (Michael Caine), who recently died, and requested his ashes be scattered ...  Read the complete review