These are the Last Days of our lives.

2005-08-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Gus Van Sant's career has been up and down. He's had the obvious favorites like Good Will Hunting and the indie favorites like Drugstore Cowboy, as well as the severe flops such as Psycho or Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.

Lately he's been coming into his own, unique style, as evidenced by Elephant and Gerry. You can take or leave his drastic turn of filmmaking, but you can't deny he's doing something different and he's not afraid.

Last Days is a logical successor to his recent films. It is a mostly-fictional account of Kurt Cobain's last living days as portrayed (rather brilliantly) by Michael Pitt. There are long, static shots. Shots that cut off heads and leave nowhere specific for our eyes to focus. The film is patient, and expects the viewer to be as well.

For those not used to this kind of pacing, it can be frustrating, especially since the film often circles back on itself to examine a scene from a different perspective. I find nothing excruciating about it, and I rather enjoy slowly observing the characters as they simply exist. It's a fascinating experience.

The film somehow doesn't seem as... valid as Elephant, or as interesting and exciting as Gerry, but it's well worth seeing a few times for Pitt's performance alone. This is an experience I would recommend, but only to those who know exactly what they are going to be getting.

le film sophistiqué

These are the Last Days of our lives.