The Last Thing He Wanted

About twenty minutes into Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted we get the first of many scenes between Anne Hathaway and Willem Dafoe. Two actors that are capable of delivering something remarkable being directed by a filmmaker who’s known for getting great work out of her performers. The scene in question should have been a rather juicy one for Hathaway and Dafoe to sink their teeth into, as they play an estranged father and daughter, with Hathaway’s character only recently burying her mom. But as the scene played, with the two actors trading lines and changing tones, I began to realize something.

I had no fucking idea what was going on.

I don’t mean that in the sense of what the scene was about, or that I had a misunderstanding of the characters’ relationship; I mean it in the sense of questioning whether or not I was an idiot who was missing something, because there’s no way a scene between these two actors in a Dee Rees film should suck…but it did. The scene was such a meandering mess that it felt like an exercise in self-sabotage film-making. I didn’t even know self-sabotage film’making was a thing, but it is…it’s The Last Thing He Ever Wanted.

Alright I was joking with that last sentence, but to be honest after watching this film, and trying to mull it over, all I can say is that I have no clue who “He” is, or what “He” “Wanted.” No idea, and I don’t care to figure it out because it would be impossible. Why impossible? Because this movie is somehow a labyrinth with nothing at its center, defeating the purpose of being a labyrinth. It is…useless.

How does a film based off of a well respected novel that’s being adapted by a well respected filmmaker with a well respected cast suck..so..much? It starts with a script that feels like pages are missing, important ones. The plot deals with conspiracies and cover-ups surrounding arms dealing in Costa Rica during the Reagan years; it doesn’t need any help becoming more complicated by adding characters who are revolving doors of motivation and emotion. Normally when you have characters like that, if they’re well written, you can get a fascinating enigma. The Last Thing He Ever Wanted goes too literal and we get the equivalent of watching revolving doors speak to one another in riddles. God…fuck this movie.

I’m not going to go further into the plot because it isn’t worth the attempt. Also it doesn’t matter because the film becomes so adrift that I couldn’t tell if it was attempting a Terrence Malick vibe, or an “I pissed on the floor of an art museum and now it must be art…vibe.” It achieved the latter if you were wondering.

Worst of all is that there are some compelling moments, and even a blueprint of a good movie lurking about. That happens when talent is involved and wasted, such as Anne Hathaway’s performance which feels like it got butchered in the editing room. She’s supposed to be in over her head, and yet very capable; stern yet vulnerable; driven yet devoid of emotion…except she cries a great deal. It’s almost like Rees told her to try everything and said, “who wants a drink” during post production. Dafoe who is riding a career high right now kind of sucks here, and that should give you a clue of how shitty this film is. Ben Affleck shows up to be a non-factor despite being a major factor in the plot.

The film also looks ugly with crap digital grading. This is yet another huge step back for Rees, who’s previous effort, Mudbound, looked gorgeous. Still, the real problems are a script that seems to scratch the surface of….

…you know what? Just don’t watch this shit.

Grade: F