Last Chance Harvey

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson make mundane stuff come to life in this sweet tale of two lonely people finding each other at the right time. Hoffman plays a commercial-jingle writer who is getting pushed out by his agency, because his ideas are too old-fashioned; Thompson plays an airport employee with a pain-in-the-neck mother. The two meet by chance in London while Hoffman is attending his daughter’s wedding. They eventually start walking and talking, and all the bad stuff just fades away. The plot isn’t unique, and the film sometimes feels like a million other movies. Still, Hoffman and Thompson deliver eloquent work—they exude charm—and you’ll find yourself rooting for them. Hoffman hasn’t had many chances of late to really show his talents; this film is proof that the man is still a fine actor.