Last Orders (2002)
80%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 5 nominations
Last Orders, directed by Fred Schepisi, is a poignant and beautifully crafted adaptation of Graham Swift’s Booker Prize-winning novel. The film explores the themes of love, friendship, death, and life with delicacy and superb texture. Schepisi’s perfect cast draws on their own and their parents’ experiences, delivering authentic and rewarding depictions of the Cockney way of life. The movie is dramatic without seeming to be, gathering its forces slowly and quietly but deeply moving. Schepisi’s outsider’s eye, being Australian, captures the indomitable spirit and the absurd brave face of the island and its islanders. The elegiac sadness of the reflection on alcohol-soaked lives still has a bitter pungency today, making Last Orders a must-watch for a discerning crowd.
Last Orders is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and crave a pint at the pub. With a cast that’s as authentic as a Cockney accent, this film is a love letter to the indomitable spirit of the British people. It’s a trip down memory lane that’s worth taking, even if you’re not from the UK. So grab a pint, settle in, and get ready for a movie that’s as bittersweet as life itself. Cheers!
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Ci By 2000 Thin Man Films,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Chatham, Kent, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexuality and some language
Year of Release
2002
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 49m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 15, 2002 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2014
Genre(s)
Keyword(s)
starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Ray Winstone, Helen Mirren, Kelly Reilly, directed by Fred Schepisi, written by Fred Schepisi and Graham Swift, drama, R rating, box office gross $2.3M, reviewed by Philip French, David Stratton, Alan Morrison, Kenneth Turan, Michael Wilmington, produced by Fred Schepisi and Elisabeth Robinson, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR, flat aspect ratio, character-driven, ensemble piece, London butcher, loyal pub-dwelling buddies, ashes to the sea, Booker Prize-winning novel, non-linear editing, flashbacks, top-notch actors, quality drama, book adaptations
Worldwide gross: $6,873,892
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,400,780
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,931
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,243,269
US/Canada gross: $2,329,631
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,863,839
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,881
US/Canada opening weekend: $111,676
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $185,222
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,692
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $12,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $19,902,751
Production budget ranking: 1,367
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,717,631
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$19,219,602
ROI to date (est.): -63%
ROI ranking: 1,764
Bob Hoskins – Ray
Tom Courtenay – Vic
David Hemmings – Lenny
Ray Winstone – Vince
Dame Helen Mirren – Amy
Fred Schepisi – Director/Producer/Writer
Elisabeth Robinson – Producer
Graham Swift – Writer
Director(s)
Fred Schepisi
Writer(s)
Fred Schepisi, Graham Swift
Producer(s)
Fred Schepisi, Elisabeth Robinson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (91) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (19)
Schepisi always handles actors sympathetically and here he has a perfect cast, most of whom can draw on their own and their parents’ experiences.
October 11, 2010
Philip French
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Delicately handled and superbly textured, this fine adaptation of Graham Swift’s Booker Prize-winning novel deals with all the really big subjects: love, friendship, death, life.
March 27, 2009
David Stratton
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Ambitious in structure and casting, it packs a lot into its screen time. Quality craftsmanship for a discerning crowd.
December 30, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Alan Morrison
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
One of the most rewarding and authentic depictions of/tributes to the Cockney way of life in recent years.
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Gathering its forces slowly, this careful, thoughtful film, quietly but deeply moving, is dramatic without seeming to be.
August 15, 2002 | Rating: 4/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
A movie I loved on first sight and, even more important, love in remembrance.
July 20, 2002 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Perhaps it took an outsider’s eye – Schepisi is Australian – to capture the indomitable spirit and the absurd brave face of this island and its islanders.
May 29, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Andrew Collins
Radio Times
…the elegiac sadness of the reflection on alcohol-soaked lives still has a bitter pungency today…
May 20, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
January 17, 2013 | Rating: B
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
[A] classy but dry, lackluster trip down memory lane…
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 2/5
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
By film’s end one feels as if they have indeed taken a long trip with these people — and along the way has grown to know and care about them.
December 11, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/5
Michael Dequina
Film Threat
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/4
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly…
Plot
After the death of a London butcher, his friends and foster son set out to scatter his ashes at sea, reminiscing about their shared memories and reflecting on their own lives along the way in Last Orders.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Last Orders includes some of the best acting talent in Britain, including Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, David Hemmings, Tom Courtenay, and Ray Winstone.
Fred-Schepisi.jpg
