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Last Orders
Sony Pictures Classics


8.7

based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
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Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: R for sexuality and some language

Starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Ray Winstone, and Helen Mirren

A group of friends gather to mourn the death of a friend. To carry out his last wish, they embark on a journey to take his ashes from London to the sea.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Fred Schepisi Graham Swift (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Fred Schepisi
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 13, 2002 Video: August 13, 2002 Theatrical: December 7, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	109 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Germany / UK

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Like finding that perfect stage of moderate drunkenness in which the senses are sharpened rather than dulled, and time passes with leisurely grace.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

It's like Chekhov with a British accent.

100

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Unassuming masterpiece about life, love and the cruel joke of old age.

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A movie I loved on first sight and, even more important, love in remembrance. Taken all in all, there's only one last thing to say about it. Go.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A funny and touching film that is gorgeously acted by a British cast to rival Gosford Park's.

Slate David Edelstein

Shows the dying tremors of a generation, and you might feel as if you can see every molecule, every atom give up the ghost.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The lifelong friends in Fred Schepisi's marvelous Last Orders actually seem like lifelong friends.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The movie's pace is unhurried by Hollywood standards, but it's all the richer in character detail.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Gathering its forces slowly, this careful, thoughtful film, quietly but deeply moving, is dramatic without seeming to be.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Sad and lovely.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Superbly adapted by Fred Schepisi from the Booker Prize-winning novel by Graham Swift, Last Orders pays quietly passionate tribute to the unsung working-class generation that fought World War II and survived to take up apparently humdrum lives.

Variety David Stratton

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.

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

The film's biggest strength is the same characteristic that may cause people to underrate it: that the group of friends we watch onscreen feel not like England's greatest actors showing off, but rather a group of friends who have indeed known each other for years through life's little triumphs and large tragedies.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Too many films about the dead involve mourning, and too few involve laughter. Yet at lucky funerals there is a desire to remember the good times.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Richly textured, beautifully acted.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A superb film that begins with death, ends in renewal, and finds almost as much to laugh about as to cry for.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Given the number of characters involved and the fact that the film flashes back and forth over a 40-year period, the film flows beautifully, thanks in large part to excellent casting and Kate Williams's fluid editing.

Time Richard Schickel

Wry humor and even a certain sexiness break through the reserve of a rueful, realistic, but finally emotionally rewarding film.

Chicago Reader Staff (Not Credited)

I was hooked from the start.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The stars ultimately carry the day, the film cumulatively builds both an emotional power and tender wisdom that's very affecting.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

It is remarkably, unsentimentally dramatized by Fred Schepisi, courtesy of the pitch-perfect performances of its ensemble British cast.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's a warm, skillful excavation of what look like ordinary lives, ones that aren't so simple once you dig a little deeper.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

If truth be told, the film is less than the sum of its parts; the main problem is the fragmented narrative structure, a legacy of the literary source. Still, it's a joy to see men and women with dense life stories played by powerful actors with long and distinguished careers.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

A friend called Fred Schepisi's ensemble drama "a crusty old white man's 'Joy Luck Club'" -- an assessment that isn't without some kernel of truth.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The storytelling may be ordinary, but the cast is one of those all-star reunions.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The actors do their best, particularly the impeccable Mirren, but Schepisi draws a shroud of chaste dullness over their scenes and lays on an energy- sapping score.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Good performances by a distinguished cast don't quite overcome the weaknesses of the disappointing screenplay.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A ho-hum male weepie/road comedy that's worth watching mostly because of a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of England's greatest working-class actors.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

Never quite shrugs off its literary manners. [18 & 25 Feb 2002, p. 200]

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

The temporal jumps between the present and varying points in the past deprive the film of a sense of completeness; the transitions from scene to scene are largely disorienting, leaving you struggling to find your bearings.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

The carload of codgers in Fred Schepisi's Last Orders merely bellyache, philosophize, crack unfunny jokes, and ruminate simplemindedly about Death.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Richard Searfoss gave it a 9:
I missed this film when it was released in theaters. Taking a chance, I just bought this movie on DVD. It is wonderful and quite moving. All the actors are superb and the direction (by Schepisi) is also very good. Highly recomended for mature audiences who are interested in adult stories rather than kiddie fare.

Yoon Min C. gave it an 8:
Epic kitchen sink British movie, truthful and touching. And, it's wonderful to see such a fine cast of actors unpretentiously giving their best. Yet, cinema this unembellished may seem a bit banal and trite. I mean we know that life is NOT a bowl of cherries. Still, it's a rare movie that has the true texture of life's experiences--the memories, betrayals, the joys, and sadness. A melancholy elegy to a generation of friends who lived, loved, drank, remembered together but will all die separately and alone.

Jeannie E. gave it a 10:
We always look forward to seeing a good movie and sometimes leave disappointed. This is one of those rare moments I left with the pleasure of seeing a true classic. A wonderful script, superb cast, excellent cinematography, a movie that uses flashbacks to give the moviegoer a real sense of what frienship is all about. I would urge everyone to see this movie. I recently purchased a DVD for my collection.

Genene C. gave it an 8:
Very good indeed.

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Last Orders Sony Pictures Classics

Last Orders
Sony Pictures Classics