Last Ride

source: The Last Ride

Last Ride is a Australian movie about a father, Kev (played by Hugo Weaving), and his son, Chook (played by Tom Russell), on their last road trip together through the Australian outback. What's great about this movie is that it doesn't follow the typical father/son discovering each other movie formulas and just tells a story. Kev is a man running from something. He is quick tempered and lives a lifestyle that is fueled only by thievery and violence. It is not a good life in which to raise a son, Chook, who is dragged along for the ride in the only life he has known, and begins to suspect that everything is not entirely what it seems. This film takes place mainly outside and has a very naturalistic feeling to it. There are a lot of beautiful desert and bush shots and all of the small town shots look authentic. A lot of people complain that the central character is completely unlikeable, but I think these sort of characters with a twisted morality are really plausible. You meet a violent man like Kev every once in a while and you wonder what has happened and what happens in their lives. And even amongst the more middle-class population, you meet people all the time who really aren't cut out to be parents and are too proud to get help - some of them still try to do well, some of them don't even bother. However, there is a point to these criticisms of the central character, there is not much in the movie that uplifts you. Not only that, but you can see how it's going to turn out right from the beginning and so watching this movie is waiting for the train wreck with very little positivity to take away at the end for either of the central characters. I don't think it's one of the great movies, but it is a good one: an interesting story, interesting characters, nicely shot and great actors. My only gripe is that it's yet another successful Australian movie that is frankly depressing and it's becoming a little bit of a cliché to have dark Australian outback stories.

a silent, melancholic movie about father and son who gonna cope with their own special reality and history. these two guys, who cannot avoid getting in trouble again and again, because of the fathers violent character. we only know some of the shadows of his past and the reasons behind his violence. that's enjoyable enough to remain in the frontiers of melancholy. the movie tells -- literally, like at the campfire -- about the wounds that are reason and those who can be results. anyway, the pictures don't surprise. we see nothing new. especially, if we have already seen ›perfect world‹. and if we have seen widescreen documentations about the terrific Australian landscape.

Most movies avoid morally flawed and reprehensible central characters, since it's too hard to get audiences to empathise with them. Instead, they go for safe fluffy leads who have a few little problems, but are only misunderstood, and really, they're the sorts of people that we should aspire to be. Boring and yuk. Last Ride does the opposite and pulls it off sensationally well, thanks to an intelligent and balanced script, wonderful direction and a superb performance by Hugo Weaving. Australian cinema has recently been accused of being too bleak and depressing, but anything done well is worthwhile. I still don't understand how such a flawed character was able to hold my attention for so long. An ex-con kidnaps his son and goes on a road trip. That's all I'm telling you. Not an easy film to watch, but oh so worthwhile.

I am a big fan of Australian films. Remember Mad Max? Well this film is Australian and it's not bad. Starring the great Hugo weaving you can't really go wrong. It is a Father son story of a not so great Father that does love his son. The story rolls along nice enough. Sure there could have been a bit more character development but it's not bad. The scenery looks amazing! The shot in the dessert with the water running over it is just spectacular. Credit to the DOP. The young boy playing Hugos son I don't think has acted in anything before this. It shows in some scenes but overall he is not bad. I was though expecting the film to climax a little more but all in all I liked it. Check it out.

Hugo Weaving is really the main reason to check this film out as he completely anchors everything about it. Movie is about this father and son who as the movie goes on we find out are on the run from the cops and we find out why and what the exact nature of their relationship is--and that's actually one of the nice mysteries of the film. We never quite know at least until the end exactly what the level of relationship is between this father and son team---do they love each other? detest each other? does one have wildly different feelings about the other then the other does about them? it's very much to the movie's credit that we really cannot take it for granted that the son either loves or hates his dad and ditto the dad to his son. The film does a very good job conveying that complexity of their established relationship. Unfortunately once you get past the father and son stuff--there's not really a whole lot else to the movie content wise---its the two of them on the lam kind of, and the two of them alternatively bickering (sometimes viciously so) and bonding (sometimes very sweetly so) the only thing that keeps the movie from getting repetitive tho is the 2 performances--again Weaving just anchors the movie with his glowering yet oddly somewhat sympathetic character and the kid who plays his son Chook is equally as good at going back and fourth between wanting nothing more then to escape his dad and loving him with all his heart. There's also a very compelling visual element to the film that helps the film move along in its somewhat lumbering middle section nicely enough. There's a scene where it literally looks like Weaving is driving his car in the middle of a lake--its not quite what it looks like--and i'm sure people in Australia will understand immediately what the car is driving on--but I had no idea why it looked like the car was driving on water! About the lumbering middle section--I suppose the reason its like that is because the film is more concerned with trying to be somewhat realistic and playing up the realism of the situation between the father and the son rather then playing up the drama of them being on the lam--and it works very much in the film's favor as you get to care about the two of them and what's gonna happen largely because of this. Unfortunately it also has the effect of making the film seem somewhat slower then it should be, but you know this is a small intimate father and son movie and that's probably the way the pace should be. One quick thing about that ending---when it was over a number of the people i was in the theater with were grumbling about why it had to be that way--but the movie absolutely has the right ending--in fact you could say it has the only ending the movie could have and still feel true to itself. It was a pretty good movie overall but definitely a hard one to cuddle up to! (and Hugo Weaving's character shouldn't have it any other way.)

First I must say that this is a drama that can make most people sad, so do think twice about watching this and pick the right mood for it. But the fact that it brings depression does not mean it is not a good movie. On the contrary, it is a brilliant one. A very dark story is what this film presents. It is about a Dad and a son's journey, and the Dad is a fugitive from justice. I do not want to ruin the story but I can conclude that the story is not at all difficult to understand. The audience may have some questions in the beginning but they are answered as the film develops, through recalling of past memories by the characters. The movie is realistic and believable, thanks to an incredible script, well-written dialogue and brilliant performances. The two main characters are very professional and amazing at their roles. This movie makes the audience think about a lot of things. Given by the dark plot is a valuable lesson for us all. There is superb character development. The relationship of the father and the son is indeed the main focus. We see the son's mixed love and hate towards his Dad, and the father's deep concern for his son in spite of his violent nature. It raises a lot of thoughts in our mind, like how parents should treat their kids and what "the right thing to do" is. I would like to point out another achievement of this movie. The film takes place across Australia, and the scenery is simply "wow". This movie does not hold back aspects of the country's natural beauty. The audience has the chance to see a whole lot of wonders: the desert, the forest, mountains, even a frozen lake. "Last Ride" is a drama dealing with extremely dark themes and there are scenes that may be disturbing for some throughout the whole movie. This is definitely not the kind of movie that we watch and have a blast, and it is one-hundred percent not suitable for young children. Nonetheless, it is very successful in its realistic portrait and its powerful performances, and is highly recommended as a thought-provoking and touching drama.

A young boy is seen with a gun in between parked cars. It is an intriguing premise. One cannot fail to wonder if it is a real gun, or just a toy one. Evidently the boy, Chook, and his father Kev, are running away from a bad situation at home. They take to the road, making their first stop at Kev's old lover, Maryanne. She wants him out, but Kev convinces her for one more tumble in the sack, for old times sake, before asking for her money. Kev discovers what appears to be an abandoned house. He manages to get Chook inside through an opening in a window. Kev has been telling Chook about their possible Afghani lineage, so when the boy discovers some strange costumes, he believes they are from Afghanistan. Chook also sees a woman that appears to be praying in a room of the house, dressed in a strange costume. The woman tells him she is from India. Kev, surprising them, forces her into submission and proceeds to steal her car and money. Chook's souvenir is her cell phone. Father and son begin a long odyssey traveling through the outback. Kev's only source of getting money is by stealing whatever he can in order for him and Chook to feed themselves. Kev shows a mean streak toward his son. When the boy finds some cosmetics in the car of the Indian lady, he paints his lips and eyes with them. Kev is mortified, beating his son with his belt. It is at this point we get to know the real reason for Kev's running away. In flashbacks we see Max, a friendly man that might, or might not be a sexual predator. Kev's savage beating probably is the cause of his friend's death. Staying in a secluded area, away from the police, Kev tries bonding with the boy, but his cruelty toward his son does not sit well with Chook. As Kev tries to stay away from the police he saw near the camping ground where he and Chook were, they come to the shallow Lake Gairtner, where the father, in a fit of anger, tries to abandon the boy. Chook figures a way out of the ordeal his old man has put him through by using the cell phone to alert the authorities. At the end, Kev has figured he does not want to go to prison again, deciding on a desperate action. "Last Ride" made an impression on this viewer. It was directed by Glendyn Ivin and based on a novel by Denise Young. The screen adaptation is by Mac Gudgeon. The director's view of the material translates beautifully in front of our eyes. The result is on a look at a desperate man against the glorious scenery of that part of Australia, most of us do not get to see. The sequence on Lake Gairtner is pure poetry, thanks to the excellent cinematography of Greig Fraser, who continues to show his artistry in every project he is involved with. The film is a tour de force by Hugo Weaving, one of Australia's best actors. His Kev is a cruel man, showing traces of having been sexually abused while in jail. Thus his reaction toward the situation with Max and his horror at his son painted face, something that might remind him of his past. Young Tom Russell holds his own opposite his more experienced co-star. One appreciate Chook's hard look at the life he has led and the abuse from a father that is tough on him. Appearing shortly is the excellent Anita Hegh as Maryanne. John Brumpton is also seen briefly as Max. One can only hope the best to the talented Glendyn Ivin in the future.

The title sounds like a western and, in a sense, it is. An outlaw and his son ride into the desert, fleeing the law. Except that it's our desert and they are in a series of stolen cars in the present. The movie evokes a lot of other films and genres as well: the road movie with a European sensibility, as in Paris, Texas, for example. Last Ride has a similar sense of space and silence around the characters and a deep sense of sorrow. It also has Hugo Weaving as an outcast, trying to bond with his son, played by Tom Russell. This is one of the most beautiful-looking Australian films in several years, with a burnished, shining clarity of light that's so good that it almost becomes distracting. The director has taken a calculated risk in the first half, holding the pace steady, verging on slow, so that the climax will be more powerful. An overall great film that you should all see.

This is a coming of age story of two people on a road trip. A man and a boy are elementally bound and separated through their own actions over the course of their intense journey . Each of their choices resonates as a life lesson. Context is revealed in the sparing use of flashbacks: like inexact memories, past acts are recalled in short swirls, and distancing, grainy, TV blue- hues. The characters' more intentional, real-time acts take place in the redemptive, sensually saturated landscape of the Outback. I found Last Ride to be more compelling than anything I've seen this year, with its lean dialogue, stunning cinematography, and great performances. It was so elegantly assembled, that I'm still aghast -this film is a prizewinner in my book. At the same time, I wonder whether I will need to lobby locally, so I can see it on the screen it deserves. It also recalled the more subtle, character-revealing aspects of Thelma and Louise. I saw Little Fish a few years ago, also featuring Hugo Weaving. That that film imprinted on me in a similar way, because it turned out to be an unexpectedly piquant dish. Last Ride is a feast of a film. Bravo, and thank you.