Last Days

Director Gus Van Sant completes his "young and dead" trilogy with this perfectly photographed film that’s based loosely on the last two days in the life of Kurt Cobain. Cinematographer Harris Savides should share equal credit for the creation of this film, which is a beautiful, plotless and daring attempt at making a movie that refuses to tell the audience what to think. Long, slow shots that show a master craftsman’s sense of balance are used to create a vision of what a film would look like if it was about all the things that are usually left out of a story. There are no revelatory moments, no cathartic encounters and no resolution. Instead, the film looks at the moments in a life that are usually forgotten and finds that they’re as pretty and telling as anything that would normally be featured in a narrative. If, like me, you thought Elephant and Gerry were among the best films produced in the last 150 years, you’re sure to enjoy Last Days. If, instead, you like your action served hot and your loose ends neatly tied up, then I’d suggest checking out something like Interracial Buddy Movie Part IV or Space Ship Explodes Noisily, now playing at a multiplex near you.