Last Orders 2001

Jay Carr, Boston Globe: There's been no richer cinematic tapestry of humanity so far this year. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: If Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning Last Orders can't really do justice to the novel, it does extremely well by its cast, thank you. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: A warm, skillful excavation of what look like ordinary lives, ones that aren't so simple once you dig a little deeper. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: Great acting throughout... Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: This is human comedy at its most amusing, interesting and confirming. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A must for fans of British cinema, if only because so many titans of the industry are along for the ride. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A movie I loved on first sight and, even more important, love in remembrance. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Schepisi, aided by a cast that seems to include every top-notch British actor who did not appear in Gosford Park (as well as one, Ms. Mirren, who did), has succeeded beyond all expectation. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: The performers are so spot on, it is hard to conceive anyone else in their roles. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The splendid ensemble cast inhabits these unglamorous roles with quiet gusto. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Offers nostalgia laced with lyricism and regret. And it poses a haunting question: When does a memory become part of the past? Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Gathering its forces slowly, this careful, thoughtful film, quietly but deeply moving, is dramatic without seeming to be. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: The lovely and richly textured British film Last Orders is as well-acted as any film you'll ever see. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The storytelling may be ordinary, but the cast is one of those all-star reunions that fans of Gosford Park have come to assume is just another day of Brit cinema. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The joy of Last Orders is its pub talk, the Cockney joking and provoking style of banter, and the extraordinary group of actors who bring the characters to life. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: The actors here are so extraordinarily adept at portraying the silences and exultations of their characters that the film becomes a kind of ode to comradeship, one unblinkered by cant or sentimentality. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Though the book runs only about 300 pages, it is so densely packed ... that even an ambitious adaptation and elaborate production like Mr. Schepisi's seems skimpy and unclear. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Because I share history and memories with these actors, it is easy to stand at the bar with their characters as they regard the urn of ashes. Read more

Charles Taylor, Salon.com: ...is funny in the way that makes you ache with sadness (the way Chekhov is funny), profound without ever being self-important, warm without ever succumbing to sentimentality. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: An enervated, overly muted drama that should have been a lot livelier, considering the terrific cast. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It's a small movie about ordinary blokes, and yet it poses some of the big questions that have vexed philosophers for ages. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: One of the most rewarding and authentic depictions of/tributes to the Cockney way of life in recent years. Read more

David Stratton, Variety: Delicately handled and superbly textured, this fine adaptation of Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning novel deals with all the really big subjects: love, friendship, death, life. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: The carload of codgers in Fred Schepisi's Last Orders merely bellyache, philosophize, crack unfunny jokes, and ruminate simplemindedly about Death. Read more