DVDs in Review

Last Chance Harvey

Title: Last Chance Harvey (2008)

Release date: November 2 2009

Certificate: 12

Format: Reviewed on DVD, available on Blu-ray

DVD RRP: £17.99

Rating: 4/5

After getting along so well together on 'Stranger Than Fiction', Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson decided to reunite, and this time they weren't filling out the supporting players' slots.

'Last Chance Harvey' is a somewhat predictable, clichéd and bitter sweet romance but it overcomes these dangerous pitfalls due to the strength and charisma of its leading actors.

Hoffman plays Harvey, a struggling jingles writer who is far more talented on the piano than his job allows him to be.

His marriage didn't survive his commitment to his craft and as the years roll by, he's found himself to be alone, unhappy in his insecure job and wanting to break free but not possessing the courage to do so.

Harvey travels to London for his daughter's wedding, and during his lonely wanderings around the city he meets Kate (Thompson), a woman who is similarly alone and unfulfilled. She is becoming a spinster who is forever being set up on blind dates that don't work.

They meet and their cheerful bitterness becomes a bond. They end up walking around London, learning more and more about each other as the clock ticks down. His daughter's marriage is almost here and he intends to fly home afterwards. She doesn't want another fleeting relationship.

In terms of plot, that's pretty much it but the chemistry between the two actors is what propels the narrative into something special.

Tender, emotional and thoughtful with the odd moment of sadness thrown in, 'Last Chance Harvey' ticks all the chick flick boxes without ever making it too cringe-worthy for a male audience either.

The relationship that builds is more like a friendship, instead of just passion, refrain and then passion again. This one builds layers that will stay with its audience.

All in all, this isn't a perfect film. Nor is it particularly memorable or sweepingly emotional, but it has the charm and honesty that is so often absent in most romantic comedies.