last christmas Movie latest review

Last Christmas: Not your typical Christmas romance

The film, which was directed by Paul Feig, was inspired by the song from the British, Towards the end of the year, a Christmas-themed romantic comedy ( romantic comedy/rom-com) or so-called holiday romance is one of the things you have been waiting for. This year, one of the options to watch is Last Christmas.

The film, which was directed by Paul Feig, was inspired by a song from the British duo, Wham! , with the same title. Feig's previous comedy works include The Bridesmaid (2011), Spy (2015), to The Heat (2013).

Last Christmas tells the story of Kate Andrich (Emilia Clarke), a woman in her 20s who works as a cashier at a Christmas shop in London. Since the beginning of the film, the audience will get the impression that Kate's life is very messy.

He was homeless, hated his job, and had no good relations with his boss or his own family. The girl who was born to an immigrant family from Yugoslavia often complained about why her life was so unlucky.

However, since meeting a charming foreign man, Tom Webster (Henry Golding), Kate's life starts to get better.

As the film progresses, the bitter story of Kate's life slowly unfolds. He has recently recovered from an illness that required him to receive a heart transplant.

One night, he confessed to Tom that since undergoing the operation, his life is no longer the same. Something was missing from him.

Throughout the film, Tom often appears at the right time, whether it's when Kate is depressed, in trouble, or needs a place to spend the night. The man is trying to change Kate's pessimistic side, to make her more positive with her signature words, "Look up."

Kate also found her motivation to get back up and organize her life. He tries to improve relations with his boss, mother, father, and older sister.

The expected surprise

From the beginning, Tom mysteriously appeared and drowned. Seeing the way he was always present or missing when Kate needed him, I suspected something was odd about him.

At first, I thought Tom was Kate's imaginary friend. The reason is, there are many scenes that make me think of Tom as a man who is too good to be true.

However, in fact, the twist that is presented in this film is not much different from my imagination. The Last Christmas script literally follows the lyrics of the song Wham! with the same title: Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away.

They adopted the lyrics and made it come true with Tom who turned out to be Kate's donor heart. The moment Kate found out about it, it all became clear. Tom isn't real, whether he's a ghost or just Kate's imagination. When the statement came out of the mouth of Kate, Tom just put his hand on her chest and said, "I am a part of you".

Even if you guessed it, it should be acknowledged that the marketing of this film managed to trick me. How come? If you watch the movie trailer on YouTube, the atmosphere of romance between Tom and Kate is very thick. Making people think they will watch the holiday romance of their countrymen, Love Actually (2003) or The Holiday (2006).

Emma Thompson, who also plays Petra, Kate's mother, is the scriptwriter for Last Christmas. The fact that the British actress, who acted in famous films such as Nanny McPhee (2005) and Mr. Saving Banks (2013), is the scriptwriter for the film, which is a bit disappointing.

The reason is, in 1996, Thompson received the Academy Awards for the category "Best Adapted Screenplay" for Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Political issues

Thompson seeks to insert current political issues into his dialogues. Call it the scene when Kate watches television and briefly there is news about Brexit, the issue of anti-immigrant attitudes in Britain, and LGBT relations.

But unfortunately, these dialogues often seem like a one-liner, are awkward, and fail to integrate into the storyline.

For me, one of the things that makes this film enjoyable is Clarke's performance. Clarke's talent for comedy can be seen from her role as Louisa in Me Before You (2016).

The chemistry between Clarke and Golding can still be trusted even though in the beginning to the middle of the film it seems too rushed. At least they are much more "alive" than the other characters, such as Michelle Yeoh who plays Kate's boss, who does not have an important impact on the course of the story.

In the end, Last Christmas did not carry the warm feeling that is usually present in Christmas films. In fact, this film focuses on regrets and life lessons that are trying to be "sold" with a Christmas theme.