DVD Last Time I Committed Suicide
Thomas Jane stars as Beat writer and Jack Kerouac-crony Neal Cassady, in a promising film that quickly flops. Based on a letter Cassady wrote to Kerouac, the highly stylized film by Stephen Kay pretty much follows the former around as he does not much of anything at all. Keanu Reeves is incomprehensible as a friend of Cassady, and Kay's jazzy, angular, colliding style does nothing to illuminate the Beat icon's all-important internal life. If you're new to the whole Kerouac-Cassady-Beat world, this is not a good first stop; slightly better is John Byrum's 1980 Heart Beat, which at least introduces some of the principal figures. --Tom Keogh |
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Review(s): DVD Last Time I Committed Suicide | |
| one that slipped through the cracks |  |
It seems that this movie can only be appreciated by fans of beat literature. If you happen to be one, or are curious about the beats, this is a fantastic movie. The movie is a dramatization of a letter that Neal Cassidy, the muse of the beat generation, wrote his famous pal, Jack Kerouac. The film brings to life all the snappy, fireball energy that was Neal Cassidy while also demonstrating the subtle poetic irony that of the beat generation. If you don't know anything about the beats, or don't care to, then this one will leave you scratching your head. If, on the other hand, you can name three beat authors and a half a dozen Charlie Parker tunes off the top of your head, then you'd be a fool not check this one out. Get your hands on the soundtrack if you can too....
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| Neal Cassady's Errant and Optimistic Youth. |
"The Last Time I Committed Suicide" was adapted for the screen by director Stephen Kay from a letter written by Beat icon Neal Cassady to his friend, author Jack Kerouac. In this letter, Cassady recounted his youthful adventures in Denver in 1945-1946. During this time, Cassady supported himself working the graveyard shift for a tire company and spent his days chasing women, "borrowing" cars, and hanging out at the pool hall with an older deadbeat acquaintance named Harry. The film's sights and sounds often mimic Cassady's frenetic personality. His skirt-chasing and petty mischief are set to the sounds of bebop, and the film's cinematography sometimes exhibits a hyperactive nervousness. "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" doesn't seem to have a point...or even a focus. It is simply a dramatization of the events of Neal Cassady's life when he was 18-19 years old. He was no more or less aimless than than he was to become, although he did not yet consider aimlessness to be a vocation in itself. Actor Thomas Jane does a nice job as Cassady, although he appears too old for the part. Keanu Reeves put on some weight for his role, and he is convincing as Neal's vaguely creepy and frequently drunk pool hall buddy Harry. Adrien Brody and Gretchen Mol also contribute interesting supporting performances. This is not a bad movie. But the audience's reaction to this film is going to depend entirely upon their attitude toward -and knowledge of- the real Neal Cassady. "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" is simply a slice of his life. There is no attempt to place Cassady's experiences in any larger context, concrete or abstract. So the film doesn't have general appeal. You either find Cassady interesting or you don't. So I'm recommending "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" to fans of Neal Cassady and students of Beat culture. I doubt that anyone else will have much patience for it.
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| If you are buying this for Keanu Reeves . . . Don't. |
I only bought this for Keanu Reeves, and thankfully, it was only £3.99, so it wasn't too much of a waste. I also bought Tomb Raider, and was expecting to hate that, and like this. Funny that.I survived a very long 28 minutes, and then switched it off. I just couldn't watch it anymore. I wasn't concentrating on it, and if I'm getting bored during a film, I will check how long has gone by. I first checked 15 minutes into the film. I am crazy about Keanu Reeves, so I thought this film would be a good buy. Plus, it's not very well known, and I was shocked to find out it was made in 1997 - I thought it would have been early nineties or so. If you think Keanu Reeves is gorgeous, do not buy this. He looks about average. I dunno whether its due to the storyline or what, but he acts like he's drunk, and looks & acts like a total sleazebag. His hair looks greasy, and he just doesn't look like him! Anyway, back to the film. None of the characters are introduced, leading to me get very confused about the lead character, who starts off the film, kissing a girl in a hospital, and then going home, and sleeping with another girl, who decides to slash her wrists just before I stopped watching. He then proceeds to run off with his "mate" Keanu Reeves, and pick up two girls along the way. Maybe the film gets better later on, and maybe I'll watch it again sometime. But I'll need to be in a BIG Keanu mood to watch this again. Which is worse: Bram Stoker's Dracula or this?! I don't understand how a film can be based on a letter!
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