So a couple of nights ago I saw a Bluray double-bill. (Part 1)
First up, Abel Ferrara’s 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH, an end-of-the-world meditation focusing on Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh as two lovers in New York City awaiting the planet’s final demise. They spend that time making art, Skype-ing relatives, vaguely watching TV apocalypse analysis, screwing, pontificating, and basically winding down. A few years ago I’d likely have chortled a bit watching this, but this film has some resonance with me as I wonder where I’ll be heading in this strange world of ours. It is handled well, and Mr. Dafoe has some pretty intense moments where his anger and helplessness threaten to boil over. Not a large or a great film, but on its small intimate scale it works. The end itself is more left to our imagination, KNOWING or MELANCHOLIA this isn’t. Which is sort of a good thing.
James Fazzaro 