"Last Passenger" begins with a doctor (Dougray Scott) and his son (Joshua Kaynama) getting on a train in England. They soon strike up a conversation with a very lovely young lady (Kara Tointon) and it really looks like it's going to be a romance film. You like the people and hope that they'll hook up by the end of the movie. But in a great case of misdirection, the film has other plans! Soon the doctor gets a call from the hospital—they need him as soon as possible and he'll have to drop off the boy at his grandparents. But it's still a while until they get to his stop and he's obviously tired, so the nice lady tells him to take a nap—she'll watch the boy. Again, here is a nice case of misdirection—the lady is NOT a serial killer or kidnapper. Instead, the surprise comes later, after the doctor awakens. His stop is nearing but he notices that almost all the passengers are gone and the train is NOT stopping at the stations! Soon it becomes apparent that the train is either unmanned or some crazy person is hurtling the train towards oblivion. And, the few passengers aboard and the people outside the train seem unable to do anything—as the train is a diesel and is racing towards the end of the line. What's next? See this film for yourself.
As I mentioned above, although the story is simple, there are some nice cases of misdirection—which I really appreciated. Additionally, although I didn't recognize any of these actors, for relative unknowns they sure did great. I particularly liked Scott—he was nice looking but no pretty boy and did a very nice job in the lead. In fact, all the actors (including Iddo Goldberg, David Schofield and Lindsay Duncan) were excellent and having 'normal' faces in these parts instead of big-name stars was a plus, as it made the film seem a lot more realistic. As for the direction and cinematography, these were big pluses—and you wonder HOW they managed to make the film in such a confined set, as ALL but the final seconds of the film are aboard a train. Finally, the music was great—and really helped create a tense mood throughout. Overall, an exciting film that I hope gets wide distribution, as it really deserves to be seen.
As I mentioned above, although the story is simple, there are some nice cases of misdirection—which I really appreciated. Additionally, although I didn't recognize any of these actors, for relative unknowns they sure did great. I particularly liked Scott—he was nice looking but no pretty boy and did a very nice job in the lead. In fact, all the actors (including Iddo Goldberg, David Schofield and Lindsay Duncan) were excellent and having 'normal' faces in these parts instead of big-name stars was a plus, as it made the film seem a lot more realistic. As for the direction and cinematography, these were big pluses—and you wonder HOW they managed to make the film in such a confined set, as ALL but the final seconds of the film are aboard a train. Finally, the music was great—and really helped create a tense mood throughout. Overall, an exciting film that I hope gets wide distribution, as it really deserves to be seen.