Comments on: LAFF Review: Crime Drama ‘Too Late’ Starring John Hawkes, Robert Forster, Crystal Reed, And Natalie Zea

By: C. Sanders

C. Sanders — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

It took courage to believe the world was round, and it takes a good pair of balls to admit that this seemingly pretentious film is utterly groundbreaking at its core. I guess maybe I\’m old-fashioned but I hope this film paves the way for other stylized independent fare as I’m tried of unscripted conversations with a lot of unnecessary “Umms" and “Ahhs" that seem oh-so-2002. As a former screenwriting teacher, it’s refreshing to see such care put into language. Meta or not, I appreciated the color. As a woman, I wasn’t bothered by the nudity at all, as our leading man never objectifies the beautiful naked subjects. Even more refreshing is that these dames remind me of pre-code Hollywood, when films dared to make a woman simultaneously virtuous and sexually in charge. All of these scantily-clad and bare-cheeked women take charge and stand up shoulder-to-shoulder to an always stellar John Hawkes. These girls are no victims, they know what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with. Everyone is indeed entitled to their opinion, and there’s no denying that this film is divisive. Though it seems to me that every choice is deliberate and executed with care and respect for the filmmaking craft. Mr. Hauck, a filmmaker – and I’m not using the word lightly – seems to love cinema, and whether or not you fall for his love letter to the art form, I think he made the movie he intended to make, and I for one think it’s splendid. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

By: Nate Pinter

Nate Pinter — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

TOO LATE is indeed a polarizing film — one that distinguishes those with taste from those with none. Anyone with a modicum of cinematic intelligence will recognize this movie as a sham. What it felt like to me was a Larry Bishop film, and that\’s not praise. Sure, it was shot on 35mm and I admire the filmmakers\’ insistence that it be presented that way. Yeah, it\’s a conceptual feat: it\’s shot in five unbroken 18-minute (the length of a reel) takes. But it\’s purely a stunt; this does not serve the narrative nor the film\’s text (it has none) in any particular way, and this exact thing has been done before, in Rob Tregenza\’s 1988 feature TALKING TO STRANGERS, a film that actually has something on its mind. With TOO LATE, it\’s obvious from the get-go — from the first few minutes — that the film is going to be awful, with its crassness of spirit and sub-Tarantino… excuse me, sub-Troy Duffy dialogue. Other apparent influences are Lynch, Wenders, and Altman, among others, but everything feels recycled and stale (e.g., Julianne Moore\’s naked-from-the-waist-down bit from SHORT CUTS is recycled here), like director Dennis Hauck had felt, upon watching all of these films he admired, that he wish he\’d made them, and making TOO LATE was a fantasy fulfillment and nothing more. After reading positive reviews elsewhere, I wondered what kind of collective brain-damage the critical establishment had endured, but am heartened to see this appropriately negative review, which perceptively catalogues most of what’s wrong with this absolutely grotesque movie. Misfire indeed.

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

LMAO I may have to watch it again on Wednesday and won\’t be surprised if I see Thor in the credits as the steadicam op. How the F did they pull that off!?

By: hwammycam

hwammycam — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

Yeah Elizabeth, i\’m not sure what screening you were at but wasn\’t there only 1? Cuz I was there and I had Crystal Reed fan-girls in front of me who were gasping and clapping the whole time. if the baby Teen Wolfers could appreciate this movie I\’m not sure why you had such a hard time

By: Rick Choward

Rick Choward — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

I\’m flummoxed by your cinematography "fall semester at NYU" comment. I\’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out the last NYU movie that shot one 20 (plus) minute take with such complexity (like zooming in to a building that is a mile away to see the other side of a phone conversation and then simultaneously covering it in close-up with (apparently) a second 35mm camera?) or a professional studio blockbuster for that matter. Maybe you can point me in the right direction for those films? I totally agree about the fedora, though. Ridiculous!

By: Greg Goldman

Greg Goldman — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

I guess we can all agree TOO LATE is a polarizing film. BUT I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF IT. I much more agree with the ain\’t it cool dot com review.
"We’re talking CHILDREN OF MEN, this-needs-to-be-studied-in-film-school level work. "
And I don\’t know what premiere you went to, but I didn\’t see one person checking their phones to the one I went to.

By: Elizabeth Weinstein

Elizabeth Weinstein — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

A spot-on review Charlie. One could ring out the pretension and entitlement of this film like a soaking wet sponge. There\’s a reason the audience was on their phones, dozing off, or muttering to one another during the premiere… you summed it up without the less desirable adjectives I would have.

By: Jenna Wilson

Jenna Wilson — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:12:26 +0000

I have a filmmaking background and I bought a ticket to this film. After watching, I couldn\’t stop thinking about it so I scoured the internet this morning looking for any write-ups, assuming that they would be glowing reviews. I assumed that anyone who saw it was going to point out of all the nuances that I thought made it so unique, and frankly, brilliant. Then I found this review and I couldn\’t disagree more. I thought the film was ambitious and bold with a great cast and a very strong tribute to crime drama and film noir. The script is solid and far more interesting than any writing we\’ve seen recently (if you are reading into that, then yes, you are correct).

I guess if I was coming up with this review and I got to the end of it, and my last line was, "…Hawkes-and wonder how he found himself in such a confounding misfire…" then I would probably rethink my entire review. I would probably muse, "As a well-respected actor who is choosy with his material, why DID Hawkes do this film? I probably just didn\’t get it. I should start over."

I\’m not a movie critic, but to make a comparison to Birdman, a film still in development when Too Late was already shooting, is very fall-semester-at (insert name of mediocre journalism school here). Even if you want to be the first person to "write something" about a movie you\’ve seen, you still have to do the research.

I think what annoys me most about former production assistant wanna-be Hollywood people turned two-bit movie review blogger types is that they\’ve probably never, ever made their own film. How can someone so harshly critique something they\’ve never done themselves, especially when it is such a brilliant execution of filmmaking?

If you really want to talk about fresh ideas, then maybe check your played-out "hater" tendencies.