Last Ride - Session Times And Movie Reviews

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Last Ride

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A desperate father takes his ten year old son, Chook, on the run after committing a violent crime. As the two journey into the desert and an unknown future, their troubled relationship and the need to survive, see them battling the elements and each other. Chook eventually takes control and the choices he is forced to make have a devastating effect on both of their lives.

Rated:	[ M ] Mature themes, violence and coarse language
Cinema release:	2 Jul 2009
Director:	Glendyn Ivin
Running time:	101 mins
Stars:	John Brumpton, Tom Russell, Hugo Weaving
Links:	IMDb Rotten Tomatoes

What we say

Teach your children well

Paul Stock, MovieFix
3.5 star rating

You learn something new every day (if you're not careful), but the lessons parents teach their children may not always be what those parents have in mind. So if there's an optimistic undertone to "Last Ride", it suggests a child can learn as much from a parent's mistakes as from more dutiful bedtime stories.

Adapted from the Denise Young novel and directed by Glendyn Ivin in his first feature, "Last Ride" is an unsentimental but still moving father-and-son road movie.

The film examines the troubled relationship between Kev (Hugo Weaving) and his son Chook (Tom Russell), who push the limits of their trust for one another while eluding authorities after a violent incident at home.

Russell delivers a suitably understated performance, as 10-year-old Chook learns the dubious life skills only a father with a criminal history can teach. But Weaving's menacing Kev dominates the screen as much as the relationship with his son.

The frighteningly clever thing about Weaving's performance is he portrays both compassion and anger with ridiculous ease, and switches between the two without missing a beat. Kev's love of and fears for his son underpin both emotions, which makes it difficult for Chook as much as the audience to anticipate the father's reactions to the unfolding drama.

For anyone who gushed over the "epic" cinematography in Baz Luhrmann's "Australia", "Last Ride" has plenty of landscapes to write home about too. But South Australia's Flinders Ranges and Lake Gairdner are starker and the beauty is more subtle than the sunburnt Nicole Kidman vehicle.

There's an eeriness about the roads the pair travel on at night and the terrain is in keeping with the pace and tone of the film, as both slowly undulate. "Last Ride" is atmospheric and tense, beautifully photographed and paced, and a fascinating spin on the relationship between a bad example of a parent (who feels he has no choice) and a child young enough to still make life-changing decisions.

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What you say

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What you say

Good Movie

Thought it was a good movie. Some stunning landscapes provided a terrific backdrop to the story. The performances of both main actors were terrific. Although the movie was quite depressing, the story moved along well, although I found the first half an hour to be a bit slow. Quite a good Australian movie!

Sam
Adelaide, SA
7 Jul 2009