Around the turn of the 21st century, I remember people freaking out over the so-called ‘millennium bug'. Last Night takes that contemporary fear and examines it on a human level. The film is based on an intriguing questions: If you knew, definitively, that the world was going to end that very day, how would you spend your final few hours? Would you get together with family members, throw a massive party, tick some items off your bucket list or simply stay home alone and do nothing? These are all among the choices made by the characters within the film, as the clock approaches midnight and the end of the world beckons. I was worried it was going to be a pretentious art house flick, where nobody is an individual, and are instead simply vessels for spewing gratingly smug dialogue and obnoxious platitudes. But no, the characters involved feel like real people. They talk and act differently, interact with each in different ways and come to learn their own lessons as the story goes on. When they talk to each other, particularly Sandra and Patrick, it feels like 2 human beings having an honest and frank discussion. It seems like writer/director/actor Don McKeller wanted the characters to have an odd flippancy about their inevitable doom, as many players act like the coming apocalypse will be some minor inconvenience in an otherwise routine day. But I think the point he was trying to make is that we get so wrapped up in our own lives and troubles that we rarely get a chance to fully see what's going on around us. It does feel slack and ambling at times, but then again so do its characters. The film ends at just the right time, and when it's over there's a sense that you've really gotten to know the people who've just been wiped from the face of the earth. I've never heard anyone speak about it, and I can see it not being to everyone's tastes, but it's a film that, thanks to focussing on the end of the world rather than just the end of the millennium, has granted itself a kind of immortality. The 90s were chockfull of great flicks, and I can safely say that Last Night is one of them.

The fact that global annihilation is just moments away could be the reason why it is sunny at midnight in Toronto but, in the long run, that's neither here nor there. Don McKellar's Last Night is a surprisingly intimate and wryly humorous end of times movie. With only hours left before the unspecified disaster ends life on Earth, Patrick (McKellar) is intent on spending his final moments alone. However, things change when he meets Sandra (Sandra Oh), desperate to find her husband in order to fulfil a suicide pact. The movie manages to evoke the required sense of desperation as the various characters try to find some sense of solace in their final moments, ranging from a reliance on faith to the fulfilment of a sexual bucket list. While not without its warts (the lighting always seems off, among other things), Last Night is surprisingly refreshing when considering the subject matter.

One of my favorite movies. Excels on every level.

An unusual end of the world drama that's ponderously paced and doesn't suit the 4:3 aspect it's filmed in, but is oddly affecting by the end.

Best movie ever! Absolute must see!

While Hollywood was churning out films about aliens and natural disasters threatening life on earth which always ended with an American hero saving the world, this more thoughtful Canadian film was considering "What would you do with yourself if you knew the world was ending and there was no way to stop it?" It follows the final hours of different people and how they choose to spend it, in all the diverse ways people might behave in the face of the end.

Last night is the lower budget, yet a little more real feeling version of "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World." which also wasn't bad. If you liked that, you should really like this. It's low-key, and almost under-sells it, but not quite. Good movie.

Canadian actor/writer Don McKellar stars in his feature film directorial debut. The world is ending in 6 hours. McKellar is determined to spend his last night alone, but he encounters Sandra Oh who is trying to get home to her husband, but can't. His sister, Sarah Polley, is spending her last night celebrating in the streets with her boyfriend. His friend, Callum Keith Rennie, is trying to have as many final sexual experiences as he can, including one with his former teacher, Genvieve Bujold. A gas company employee, David Cronenberg, is calling all their customers to let them know that service will continue until the end. The film quite wisely gives no information as to why the Earth is ending ... it just is, right at the stroke of midnight. There are indications of what kind of cause it must be (daylight continues for 24 hours), but no details are provided, so there's really no question of trying to save people. The film just deals with people facing the end ... some do it in style (Bujold spends her last moments at a concert), some do not (there is a lot of violence and chaos on the streets). It's a quiet and thoughtful film.

how would people choose to spend their last few hours on the planet? a simple premise guaranteed to "what-if" hook you. epic through its attention to human scale and with a beautiful, surprising soundtrack.

Last Night is really about our control (or lack thereof) of the world around us. The literal end of the world is McKellar's impetus for everyone to realize how helpless they truly are. Visually the film is incredible and the performances are great, focused internally rather then on external bombast typical of the world-ending-in-disaster genre. It is poignant and darkly humorous, sometimes simultaneously. The human focus is also the film's weak point as well with a fairly narrow, nihilistic focus that, while exhibiting in different ways, is also laid fairly heavily across all the characters. Thought provoking nonetheless and worth more than one viewing

A very sharp witty script & fine character performances reveals a small gem of a film!

A midly amusing character piece from Canada set in the last 6 hours before the apocalypse. A little unambitious but still nicely put together.

wow.....stunning.....brilliant......i have just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a great movie 2 watch.......its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie......i think that don mckellar, sandra oh, callum keith rennie, sarah polley, tracy wright (.R.I.P.), david cronenberg, play good roles/parts thorughout this movie......i think that the director of this comedy/drama movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie.......its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that the special effects throughout this movie were really good throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch.....i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch.......its got a good cast thorughout this movie......i think that this is such a cult classics 1998 movie 2 watch......the ending of this movie is really sad but this is a great movie 2 watch.......i think that don mckellar (patrick throughout this movie) was so brilliant throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch its got a good cast throughout this movie.....i think that david cronenberg was great throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch.....its got a good cast throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch it is such a really sad movie 2 watch.....i think that this is a brilliant movie 2 watch......its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that the cameos from Jackie Burroughs (.R.I.P.), Arsinée Khanjian, were good cameos throughout this movie......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch its got a great cast throughout this movie......i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch but its such a brilliant movie 2 watch its got a good cast throughout this movie.....i think that this is such an enjoyable movie 2 watch its got a good cast thorughout this movie.....i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch with a great cast throughout this movie,.....

script & fine acting made for compelling viewing!

Oddly effective and beautiful examination of how several people spend their last hours on earth. Don McKellar proves to be powerful filmmaker. Both he and Sandra Oh give outstanding performances.

One of the best end of days movies ever. Lent my original Canadian DVD to a friend and it got lost in the mail upon return. A real tragedy considering how hard this movie is to find.

What would you do if you knew that the world was going to end at midnight? If we knew it was absolutely the last night on earth and we had ample warning, how would we spend it? Some would spend time with family and friends. Others wouldn't wait until midnight. Some would spend it in church. Some would settle old scores either with apologies or with a gun. Others would spend it on a sexual free-for-all. Many, I suspect, would turn to violence and destruction - that is, if I now humanity the way I think I do. 'Last Night' is an end-of-the-world scenario that examines how a group of individuals choose to spend their final hours on earth. Sandra (the wonderful Sandra Oh) spends all day trying to get back home to her husband Duncan (David Cronenberg) after her car is trashed by looters; Craig (Callum Keith Rennie) wants to spend the day living out all of his deepest sexual fantasies; Patrick (Don McKellar, the film's director) is a young widower who wants to spend his last evening at home listening to music; Sandra's husband Duncan owns the power station and spends his day waiting for Sandra by calling his customers to let them know that the power will remain on right to the end. Those personal stories set this movie apart from most films about the end-times which tend to portray the end of the world as a disaster movie, with falling buildings, mass hysteria, looting and hyper-active special effects. This film is quiet because it focuses on personalities. I can imagine Robert Altman directing a movie like this. It is directed instead by Don McKellar who shows a lot of restraint with this characters and his stories. The people act as real people would and talk as real people might. He sets the story in Toronto (this is a Canadian production) on an unknown date and never gives a reason for why the world is ending - the characters already know, so why sit around yapping about it? The sun never goes down, even at 10pm so we assume that the sun is about to go supernova (why exactly midnight is never revealed either). The mass looting has subsided because there is nothing left to steal. What looting remains only happens in the backgrounds of certain shots. There are no police anywhere and, we're told, the governments of the world shut down some time ago. Those details in place, this is simply a movie about personalities. The most intriguing is Sandra who, I think, represents most of us. She has an agenda (one that isn't revealed until the third act) and her face is a mask of frustration as she attempts to find some mode of transportation to get across town and back to her husband. She's played by the wonderfully underrated Sandra Oh who is one of the most relaxed and natural actresses. I've seen her in films like Sideways and Rabbit Hole but there she reveals a whole different level. What is waiting for Sandra when she gets back with Duncan is painful, but even more is the issue of not getting being able to back to him. She as a promise to keep to him and it is killer her that she cannot fulfill it. Nothing can bring about our faith nor our true nature like knowing that the end is near. That fact brings an odd unpredictability to Last Night because we get to know the characters but we wait to see the poignancy in their final moments. This is a sad film but not a maudlin one. The fact that director Don McKellar avoids the obvious melodramatic high point and just focuses on people and who they are makes the end of the film inevitable, unpredictable on a personal level and finally very touching.

A hugely intelligent and thought provoking end-of-the-world drama that foregoes the apocalyptic CGI in favour of sharply observed character studies. Last Night has great generosity toward all its diverse characters - the context of the film serves to heighten our own empathy towards them. A hugely rewarding watch, and a great achievement by McKellar.

I found this movie very difficult to get into. It felt like the first half hour of the movie was just people talking about nothing. http://trust-the-dice.blogspot.com/2012/06/last-night-1998.html

Even if the mayans were misinterpreted this is still a good movie to watch this week. Relevant despite the fact we will survive, most probably.