Last Chance Harvey
| Last Chance Harvey | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joel Hopkins |
| Produced by | Tim Perell Nicola Usborne |
| Written by | Joel Hopkins |
| Starring |
Dustin Hoffman Emma Thompson Kathy Baker James Brolin |
| Music by | Dickon Hinchliffe |
| Cinematography | John de Borman |
| Edited by | Robin Sales |
| Distributed by | Overture Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $32,561,321 |
Last Chance Harvey is a 2008 British-American romantic drama film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. The screenplay focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship over the course of three days. Dustin Hoffman plays an American composer who loses his job and his position of father of the bride in the course of a single day overseas while Emma Thompson plays an airport worker with a jaundiced view of relationships.
Divorced American Harvey Shine writes jingles for television commercials, a job not in keeping with his dream of being a jazz pianist and composer. His position at work is tenuous as he departs for London to attend his daughter Susan's wedding. Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, he encounters Kate Walker, a single Londoner who works collecting statistics from passengers as they pass through the terminals. Tired and anxious to get to his hotel, Harvey brusquely dismisses her when she approaches him with the survey.
Arriving at his hotel Harvey discovers that he is the only wedding guest booked in there. He is hurt to discover that has his ex-wife Jean has rented a house to accommodate everyone who is attending from the States, except him. At the dinner on the night preceding the wedding, it becomes increasingly clear Harvey is now an outsider to his daughter's life and is being excluded from the clan around his ex-wife's new husband Brian. Their politeness towards him is insincere and makes him feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Susan tells Harvey that as her step-father Brian has been more of a father to her in the last few years than he has, she is going to ask him to give her way at her wedding. Clearly upset, but accepting of her decision Harvey lies and tells Susan that he will be attending the ceremony but not the reception because he has to urgently return to the States.
Meanwhile, Kate is on a that is not going well. After taking a phone call from her neurotic mother Maggie, she returns to the table to discover that her date has bumped into friends at the bar and invited them to join them. Feeling socially awkward and excluded from the group she eventually goes home.
The following morning Harvey attends the wedding and then leaves immediately for the airport, having been excluded again and seated at the back of the church instead of the front in his true place next to his daughter. Owing to the heavy London traffic he is delayed and misses his flight back to the States. When he calls his boss to advise him he will be returning later than planned he is fired. Needing to drown his sorrows, Harvey goes to an airport bar and sees Kate who is there having a solitary lunch. Recognizing her from the day before, he apologizes for his rude behavior. She initially resists the attention he is paying her but soon they're both glad to finally have an honest, genuine conversation with someone.
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Wikipedia