LAST LOOKS (2022) 

Last Looks is a film written by a novelist and unfortunately suffers from the usual problems that stem from the situation, where most of the information given to the viewers are told through dialogue instead of shown which lessens the impact of new info. This method is passable in most genres, but a glaring weakness here in a murder mystery.

 

It is very difficult to follow along on the investigation even though it’s the only thing every character talks about. The dialogue middles in quality, being saved by performance, but all the clues are only briefly mentioned and never once given visual cues.

 

And it’s strange that the film would suffer from this problem alongside subpar direction given its production value. It’s clear very good cameras, lenses, and lights were used, but the hands behind them consistently make mistakes such as shot composition and somehow warping the anamorphic look to make the backgrounds extremely distracting.

 

The throughline here is so thin and fragile that trying to grasp it to engage with the film ends up tearing it apart. I’m sure the novel is good, but I can assure you the adaptation is not.