F. Scott Fitzgerald once remarked, "There are no second acts in American lives." He was referring to the widespread belief that life ends at 40, and there are no comebacks. However, more and more people are showing that it is possible to start anew during all stages of life. That certainly is the case of the two lead characters in Last Chance Harvey, written and directed by Joel Hopkins. It takes some of us many years to discover our true song, to take a risk on love, or to free ourselves from prisons of our own making.
New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is a composer who writes jingles for advertising campaigns. His boss (Richard Schiff) has grown impatient with his work and is considering replacing him with a younger person. Harvey is in a rut and laments the fact that he never was able to make it on his own as a jazz musician. Feeling like he is on trial once again, he heads off to London for the wedding of his estranged daughter Susan (Liane Balaban). He dreads another encounter with his ex-wife Jean (Kathy Baker) who has a habit of making him feel like a loser whose actions embarrass her. She has been very close to her daughter since remarrying Brian (Josh Brolin), a handsome and accomplished man. After bumbling his way through the rehearsal dinner, Harvey is stunned when Susan informs him that she is going to have Brian walk her down the aisle at the ceremony and present her to the groom. Things go from bad to worse, when Harvey misses the airplane back to New York and is fired.
While lamenting the nightmarish proportions of this trip at an airport bar, he meets Kate (Emma Thompson), who works for the Office of National Statistics. She looks after her mother Maggie (Eileen Atkins) who has recently recovered from cancer and is paranoid about a new Polish neighbor she thinks might be a serial killer. Kate is single and had her own nightmarish experience on a recent blind date when she was ignored after her date asked some friends to join them at their table. Disappointment has become a frequent feeling in her life and so she is wary when Harvey opens up his soul to her.
Last Chance Harvey is a life-affirming romantic drama that reminds us that it is never to late to turn our lives around. The trick is that it usually takes a leap of faith into the dark which can be very frightening. Dustin Hoffman conveys Harvey's awkwardness as he finds himself reaching out to a complete stranger for sympathy and a little human kindness. She responds to his pain, and they spend a long time together after Kate convinces him to attend his daughter's wedding reception. She joins him and provides moral support as he expresses his love for Susan. What is endearing about the intimacy that develops between these two middle-agers is their convivial conversation. In the end, it serves them both very well.
The DVD has both widescreen and full-frame presentations of the film, the theatrical trailer, a "making of" featurette, and audio commentary with writer/director Joel Hopkins, and Academy Award-winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.
