This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Chickens Come Home to Roost
Plot Overview
Det. III, ret. Charlie Waldo (Charlie Hunnam) developed
a troubled conscience in conflict with the inept & corrupt LAPD who were then jaded
by his media exposure. He now lives a “minimalist” existence
a little ways out of town and keeps to himself. His PI, once-upon-a-time lover Lorena Nascimento
(Morena Baccarin) googles his location and shows up in her gas-guzzling
car to try to enlist his aid in a high profile Hollywood murder case.
He's not interested but gets manipulated into helping out. If his rusty,
minimalist approach does better than the overconfident cops
can, we might seriously consider defunding the police.
Ideology
“Last Looks” explores basic needs, (Prov. 30:7) “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:” taking up on, (Prov. 30:8-9) “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Get-rich-quick schemes we do not need, being based on “vanity and lies.” If they work, our success brings its own troubles, and if they don't work, we bring troubles upon ourselves trying to recoup our losses. Waldo's police career took off after he made a bust in a 7–11 robbery/shooting case, but his snitch lied to him, and he didn't find out until it was too late to rectify—not that anybody cared. Having achieved some media exposure in the process, he's now in demand by network owner Wilson Sikorsky (Rupert Friend) who wants to boost his ratings after his star actor Alastair Pinch (Mel Gibson) is accused of murdering his wife and his conviction looks like a done deal. He doesn't expect the has-been detective to actually solve the case, only to generate lucrative publicity. Hollywood is built on vanity.
Waldo maintains exactly one hundred possessions: no more, no less. He does not over-consume. There's a mini-documentary showing our planet being wasted by those who do. There's also some footage of a Christmas set when consumption is at its peak. Waldo, however, keeps all his books (Bible?) on a Kindle so they don't add to his one hundred things.
“Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?” is embodied by Sikorsky who is wantonly rich. He is so busy managing his empire, he has no time for a religious thought in his head. His walls are plastered with pictures of sports heroes and the like, but nothing reflecting a religious sentiment.
“Lest I be poor, and steal, and
take the name of my God in vain” is cleverly incorporated into
the plot through the introduction of one Jayne White (Lucy Fry)
a popular teacher at the “Kindergarten for the rich and
famous.” She's a real winner, this lady who describes herself
as, “I'm a thrill seeker and I'm teaching [effing]
kindergarten.” She finds her thrills seducing kindergarten
dads. She'll innocently engage them in conversation about their kid,
then comes an interruption and she'll suggest they continue the
conversation later writing down an address of a church to meet at,
all on the up-and-up. There she'll declare, “a girl needs a
drink,” and they'll repair to The Blue Ribbon bar. In a side
hallway, she'll steal a kiss from the guy and then enquire about
his needs. When a rival network hires a detective to dig up dirt on
Sikorsky, who has a daughter in that school, the detective, being
strapped for cash, blackmails those dads he's been following.
He's bound to turn up Jayne, and said Peyton Place is likely to implicate
the church rendezvous place, and not in a good way.
Production Values
“” (2021) was directed by Tim Kirkby. It was written by Howard Michael Gould, based on his 2018 novel, Last Looks. It stars Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson and Lucy Fry. Gibson outshines his trailing support cast who were just not in his league. Hunnam comes through playing a reformed cop turned tree-hugger. The female characters for the most part remain in the shadows.
MPAA rated it R for pervasive language. It's fast paced and humorous, but nobody's going to bust a gut at its tepid material.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
You've heard of hard boiled detective novels. Waldo fries his eggs in a cast iron skillet on a grill powered by a slack solar panel. This one is more like an eggs fried easy, reluctant detective movie.
Movie Ratings
Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well, at least you can't see the strings. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: Predictable. Overall movie rating: Three stars out of five.
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