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(About Our Ads) "LAST DAYS" (2005) (Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Extreme Minor Heavy Minor Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None Minor *Mild Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Drama: A despondent rock star decides to kill himself, as his band mates and others pay little attention. PLOT: Based loosely on what Kurt Cobain's final days might have been like, the movie follows Blake (MICHAEL PITT) as he wanders through the woods, muttering, distracted, and still wearing his hospital bracelet (he has left a rehab center without finishing the program). At the home he shares with his band mates and their girlfriends, he rambles through large, unkempt rooms, plays music, and eats cereal and macaroni and cheese, barely conversing with those around him. His band mates and their girlfriends -- Luke (LUKAS HAAS), Asia (ASIA ARGENTO), Scott (SCOTT GREEN), and Nicole (NICOLE VICIUS) -- spend their hours sleeping, partying, and having sex, without much interest in their host/front man. Their lack of direction is underlined by the focus showed by several visitors to the house, including a Yellow Pages ad-space salesman (THADEUS A. THOMAS), two Mormons (ANDY AND ADAM FRIBERG), and a private detective (RICKY JAY), apparently hired to find Blake, who arrives with hanger-on Donovan (RYAN ORION). None of these encounters leads to resolution or even much action. Rather, the film evokes Blake's own somber mood by deliberate rhythms (in slow camera movements and long takes) and images suggesting his loneliness and sensitivity -- he writes in his journal, he plays with kittens, he sits quietly by a nearby river, he plays music along with a tape -- while other characters come and go. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're interested in the legendary Kurt Cobain or like Gus Van Sant's other meditative films, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language and some sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MICHAEL PITT plays Blake, a young rock musician whose sensitivity and melancholy overcome him, leading to his suicidal thoughts. LUKAS HAAS plays Luke, a band mate who looks up to Blake, but lacks direction and ambition beyond sexual experiences (with men and women) and writing songs. ASIA ARGENTO is a band mate's girlfriend named Asia, who tries her best to ignore Blake's obvious depression. SCOTT GREEN plays band mate SCOTT, so addled by drugs and lack of focus that he misses Blake's needs in order to make trivial demands. RICKY JAY plays a private detective hired to find Blake, himself distracted by his own love of historical crime and suicide trivia. RYAN ORION plays a young man who leads the detective from place to place in search of Blake. NICOLE VICIUS plays Nicole, another girlfriend, who has little to say or do but "hang around." KIM GORDON plays a woman who stops by to warn him to be careful; she might be his mother, an ex-lover, a friend, a manager. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick look at the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 10 uses of the f-word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, as is gay male sex (shown briefly) and two girls dancing closely and kissing. A couple of scenes show butts (a girl's in skimpy underwear, a guy's through wet boxers), and characters sleeping in bed together while a guy wears a woman's slip with just boots and a jacket. The characters' sexual activities and references demonstrate that they exchange partners (bisexually), and focus their limited energies on experimenting with sensual experiences (drugs and sex). The film frequently shows characters using or discussing drugs (especially marijuana), as well as smoking and drinking, and various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. A tense family moment involves Blake's mother asking whether he has spoken to his young daughter (never seen on screen), and advising him to get help. Her communication with him seems strained, awkward, and very ineffective. Meanwhile, a character commits suicide (not seen, although their body is afterwards). If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Characters use drugs and drink repeatedly (scenes are repeated from different vantage points, so sometimes the action is the same, only differently represented). Blake digs up a cigar box of drugs when he arrives at the house, though you don't see them or see him actually ingest them. He seems high for the rest of the film. Blake nods off while the Yellow Pages salesman talks, though it's not clear exactly what he's taken. When the band mates and girls come home after a night out, they stumble and slur their words, dance and listen to music, all acting like they're stoned. Blake goes to a club (it's unclear when in the time frame this occurs, as it appears to be a flashback), where he's surrounded by partiers; a young man offers him drugs ("I know you're not feeling that great"), and Blake walks away. The band mates and girls stumble along, get into a car, see Blake alone in the greenhouse, and drive off without checking on him. The band mates drive away, deciding not to go back because they'll be "accused of copping for Blake." BLOOD/GORE At the start of the film, Blake wanders through the woods, walking across a river in his boxers and pausing to pee into it (his back to the camera, no pee visible). A painting in the livening room, visible in the background while Blake talks to the Yellow Pages salesman, shows a group of hunting dogs taking down a stag (no blood, but clearly violent and metaphorical for Blake's situation). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Some viewers may be offended by the film's premise, which is an examination of drug-abusing, irreverent rock musicians, who trade sexual partners and remain generally stoned throughout. Blake walks into a couple's bedroom with a shotgun. Blake repeatedly wanders outside, mumbling (sometimes indiscernible, sometimes using curse words, sometimes frustrated, as in, "Don't want to be treated like a criminal"). (Scenes are repeated from different vantage points, so sometimes the action is the same, only differently represented.) Blake greets a Yellow Pages ad salesman while wearing a slip and jacket. When he takes the jacket off, the salesman leans back into his chair, becomes uncomfortable, and leaves. Asian finds Blake unconscious, then only props him up against the door and leaves him. During the Mormons' visit, Scott asks them about drinking sacramental wine (they don't). When they discuss Jesus Christ as the "purest being to ever walk the earth," Scott suggests that by "killing something pure, you become innocent yourself," disconcerting the Witnesses and repeating the theme of sacrifice (Blake's). Scott wears a wool hat that has a skull and bones image on it. Donovan and the detective wander through Blake's house, looking at his stuff for "clues." The band mates and girls, leaning on one another and laughing, pass by the detective and Donovan, calling them names. Whenever Blake sees someone who might be looking for him (the detective, Donovan, band mates), he hides or runs away. Scott approaches Blake in the kitchen, saying he needs money to got to Utah and complaining that the house is cold and he has no apples to eat The band mates and girls stumble along, get into a car, see Blake alone in the greenhouse, and drive off without checking on him. The band mates drive away, deciding not to go back because they'll be "accused of copping for Blake." An actual MTV report on the suicide (featuring Kurt Loder and Michael Azzerad) suggests the media attention to the death is too much too late. FRIGHTENING SCENES The film moves so deliberately, that no scene is precisely frightening, though the suicide -- which takes place off screen --is surely disturbing. A painting in the livening room, visible in the background while Blake talks to the Yellow Pages salesman, shows a group of hunting dogs taking down a stag (no blood, but clearly violent and metaphorical for Blake's situation). GUNS/WEAPONS Blake carries a shotgun several times during the film. At one point he puts on a hunting cap and carries the shotgun into a bedroom where a couple lies asleep. Blake carries the gun into his room, then carries it around the house, periodically. A man's body is found with the shotgun next to him, but we don't see the suicide. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "F*cking dickhead," "F*cking m*therf*cker" and "Who the f*ck is that?" Blake pees into a river (his back to the camera). Blake pours himself cereal, taking the milk bottle top off with his teeth. Blake repeatedly swats at bugs, unseen by us, so perhaps indications of his addled state. JUMP SCENES None MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of creepy music briefly plays in one scene. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) The Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" includes abstract lyrics about what sounds like S&M (leather, whips and more) but could be metaphors for something entirely different and none of it's explicit. PROFANITY At least 10 "f" words (also used with "mother"), 1 slang term using male genitals ("dickhead"), 1 ass (used with "hole"), and 1 use each of "God" and "Christ" (several uses of "Jesus Christ" are used during the Mormons' visit, but not in vain). SEX/NUDITY The Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" includes abstract lyrics about what sounds like S&M (leather, whips and more) but could be metaphors for something entirely different and none of it's explicit. Some viewers may be offended by the film's premise, which is an examination of drug-abusing, irreverent rock musicians, who trade sexual partners and more. At the start of the film, Blake wanders through the woods, walking across a river in his wet boxers and pausing to pee into it (his back is to the camera, and no pee visible, but his butt is partially seen through the clingy fabric). Asia wakes in bed with Scott, then wanders downstairs in her black bra and thong, exposing her rear end. Asia leans over Blake, passed out on the floor, and her rear end is briefly visible. Boyz II Men video features the Boyz hugging girls. When the band mates and girls come back after a night out, one of the girls says, "I'm not wearing a bra." Asia and Nicole dance together, closely. Blake greets a Yellow Pages ad salesman while wearing a slip and jacket. When he takes the jacket off, the salesman leans back into his chair, becomes uncomfortable, and leaves. Luke and Scott go upstairs to have sex, the camera shows Luke taking off his shirt and leaning into Scott (already lying on the bed and mostly out of frame), and they kiss. The camera pans off the sex scene as you hear loud guitar music. Luke describes a girl he met while on tour in Japan, saying, "It was the best sex I ever had in my life." As a man's dead body lies on the floor of the greenhouse, his spiritual/ghost self emerges, naked and transparent (a special effect without any explicit details), and climbs a stairway as if to Heaven. SMOKING Characters smoke cigarettes repeatedly in the film, especially Blake, who does so when he's writing or thinking. TENSE FAMILY SCENES A woman (Kim Gordon) who might be Blake's mother arrives to ask whether he's called his daughter; he says he's called her, to "do the voices that she likes." The woman calls him a "rock n roll cliché," warns him to leave the house, then walks off screen. A woman calls and yells at one of the band mates on the phone; she might be Blake's wife (with reference to Cobain's wife, Courtney Love). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT How the music industry ignores danger signs in artists. How depression and a sense of isolation can be frightening or lead to suicide. How the film represents drug abuse without actually showing much of it literally. How the film suggests that rock music is a creative outlet and means of expression, as well as a cold commercial industry. Grunge music of the 1990s. VIOLENCE Early in the film, the camera frame shows a TV, where we see a karate class in session. A painting in the livening room, visible in the background while Blake talks to the Yellow Pages salesman, shows a group of hunting dogs taking down a stag (no blood, but clearly violent and metaphorical for Blake's situation). The private detective describes a real-life 1918 case, in which a magician performs a trick of catching a bullet between his teeth, but the trick goes wrong, and he's shot in the chest and dies (only told, but in detail). A suicide takes place off screen (not seen or heard). Reviewed July 25, 2005 / Posted August 5, 2005