Customer Reviews

The Last Letter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"The Last Letter" opens up after the arguements in a serial murder case have wrapped up and the jury deliberations begin. The facts seem cut and dried, and eleven jurors are convinced of the accused's guilt, but there's one holdout, and he sets out to change the others's minds. With the exception of some flashback scenes showing how the various murders are presumed to have been committed, the whole thing takes place in the jury room, in real time. I was impressed how they managed to keep the whole thing fresh, tense and engaging within those constraints. The subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) clashes between different personalities within the jury room is handled well. The flashback-to-the-murder scenes are the least potent parts of the movie, but they carry through the information on the murder theories that they're intended to. There are a couple of times where the turns of events in the jury room don't ring true, other times the twists and revelations are highly effective. At times it's pretty rough around the edges, but all in all, it's a unique and satisfying suspense movie.

This is a film done on a small scale but it works mainly due to the strong performances by Yancy Butler and William Forsythe. I can't say much about the story without spoiling the movie - I can say it centers around a murder trial and the jury that must decide the fate of the accused. Slowly, thing start happening while the jury deliberates. Its a very interesting film. Its worth a look.

I watched this film and it was great. During the first half, you think it's a re-make of the old movie "12 Angry Men", but then you find out it isn't. It is much much better. I will not give the details here as it would ruin it for you. Believe me, the ending is worth watching the whole thing. Also, the movie starts right out interesting, isn't slow, not one portion was boring. Wonderful movie. Whoever the script writer was, deserves more money because this plot was stupendous.

Imagine the usual suspects meets 12 angry men, horribly acted and on a shoestring budget. Then rip a few pages out of the script and have it rewritten by monkeys on typewriters...these monkeys are also brain damaged, have no arms and are high on drugs.now we're getting close.

I know there are worse movies out there, but i cant remember what they are exactly...

Being a big William Forsythe AND Yancy Butler fan, I was soooo disappointed in this movie. Don't bother!

Why can't I get a budget to make a movie? Are they giving away film financing in cereal boxes now? What idiot in Tinsel Town thought that this was a good way to spend money when several major Level 1 Trauma Centers are about to close in the county due to lack of funding! This is one of the worst films that I have ever had the misfortune to watch. But, I kept watching because I it would get better. WRONG! Thirty minutes in, I felt as suffocated as that odd sequestered jury. At least I didn't have a bailiff guarding the door. Now the movie did have TWO redeeming factors. Since I don't want to be cited for posting a spoiler, I won't go into detail on the two "fair to mid'lin" scenes in the last 15 seconds of this arduous journey. One is the closing credits (thank you, oh, Merciful One!) The other scene comes right before that. Even then, the credits are still the BEST of the two. The other rates a distant second behind the credits, while the film itself hadn't even made it out of the gate. There is one other scene, which the director obviously thinks is a "Sixth Sense" moment, but it is really lame. I didn't count that as a #3 redeeming factor because, f you watch the movie closely, you will be able to figure it out long before it is "sprung upon an unsuspecting viewing public". But that scene is certainly the most frightening in cinematic history for the poor people who must live and work in that city. (Again, I can't tell you what it is because I don't want to spoil the film for you - the flick will do that itself!) And also the ending leaves one to believe that there will be a sequel. If the "suits" at Sony Pictures is thinking about continuing this disjointed sage, I've got 3 words for them: "PEOPLE ARE STARVING"! The "last letter" is "zzzzzzzzzzzz" for SNORING!