The Last Word is a beautiful indie. Beautiful in its look, feel, and tone. This is a film which goes beyond the traditional small-budget effort by showing itself to be an elevated exercise that actually delivers in other departments as well. The Last Word also strays from the standard kind of indie fare that tries far too hard to mix quirky humor and telling pathos by possessing a quiet sensitivity to it, which is somewhat surprising given its sitcom-like presence. Yet The Last Word is a totally unassuming film with a tone that doesn’t overwhelm, but instead gently carries the audience along for a completely embraceable cautionary tale of a life spent guarded and shielded from the world and the people in it.
Screen legend Shirley Maclaine stars in The Last Word as Harriet, a retired marketing CEO who loves a solitary existence. With no friends or family to speak of, Harriet spends the majority of her time micromanaging every aspect of her daily life, from showing her yard man how to trim the hedges to doing her own hair while her hairdresser stands by silently. When Harriet decides she must oversee the writing of her own obituary, she meets Anne (Amanda Seyfried), the local paper’s obituary writer, whom she recruits to ensure she is remembered accordingly. Though the two women don’t take kindly to each other at first, it isn’t long before a kinship is formed between the type-A Harriet and the equally complicated Anne.
The script for The Last Word proves itself to be one of the film’s strongest assets and moves so effortlessly between comedy and drama, with one line after another carrying with it the kind of delicate rhythm so often hard to master. Plenty of script highlights come when describing the character of Harriet, who refers to herself as “the world’s most unqualified fairy godmother,” and a “human black cloud,” according to her hairdresser (Sarah Baker). The script gives its main character plenty of acerbic one-liners, such as her complaining to a hospital doctor, “You call this a gown?” referring to the hospital-appointed attire she is wearing. “If you bring me a wheelchair, will you refer to it as my chariot?” Such dialogue also makes for some good moments between the two leads, even in the smallest of instances like when Harriet is leaving Anne’s apartment, upon which the latter has spouted out a snarky remark to her departing guest. “Sarcasm, the wit of the witless,” comments Harriet. “Condescension,” counters Anne. “The repartee of the rude.” And yet Stuart Ross Fink’s script never loses steam in the film’s more serious moments, such as when Anne is facing an upset Harriet who is more than displeased with the first draft of her obituary. “I didn’t have a lot to work with,” Anne sorrowfully explains. “You had my life to work with,” exclaims Harriet. “And I did the best that I could with it,” Anne flatly states.
Sparkling script aside, it’s The Last Word’s ideology which makes the film feel like a truly worthwhile experience. It’s hard not to feel empathy and understanding for this portrait of loneliness, regret, and reflection as seen through the character of Harriet. The opening shots of the film in which Maclaine is shown walking throughout her home thinking and quietly remembering to herself may be too slow for some audiences, but they say so much about what she’s let go of, what she’s held onto, how guarded she’s been, and how much her choices in life have cost her. In fact both characters are discovered to be stuck living unfulfilled lives, with Anne coming to her own impasse from spending her days writing about other people’s milestones and achievements as way of avoiding her own fears of not being able to cultivate a life of her own. Director Mark Pellington has taken great care to ensure that Harriet and Anne are seen as well-drawn characters. As a result, there’s very little about them which one could deem cardboard, especially for a comedy. These two feel like real people who become even more real as they embrace the film’s ultimate theme to “have a day that means something.”
A film such as The Last Word gives its legendary star a pitch-perfect vehicle for her talents. Maclaine knows this and greatly sinks her teeth into Harriet, proving she’s just as strong a cinematic force as always. Seyfried, meanwhile, never gets lost in the presence of her famous co-star as she shows herself to be a more accomplished actress than some would give her credit for. The two share a chemistry that’s undeniable, working so incredibly well that one wishes the film didn’t have to include anybody else.
The Last Word loses focus here and there with sub-plots on a wise-cracking at-risk youth named Brenda (Ann’Jewel Lee) and Harriet’s wish to be a disc jockey. However there’s no doubt the film works best in its moments of reflection provided by an incredibly warm script. Watching Harriet examine her past and the reasons why she is in the place she’s at make up the majority of The Last Word’s heart and will doubtless inspire audiences to take stock of their own lives; wondering if they themselves can recall having had “a day that means something,” and if not, to hopefully go out and have one.
