LAST DAYS (2005)

Cast

Plot

Gus Van Sant's latest masterpiece is very much in a similar vein to his previous two films (Elephant and Gerry). Meditative, ambivalent and beautifully shot, Last Days is a loose retelling of the Kurt Cobain suicide. The dialogue is made up of mumbled non sequiturs and directionless enquiries. The cinematography, as in Elephant, is a mixture of pristine framing, expert use of natural light and patient static observation. Though the pace of the movie is arguably too testing for some viewers, the cumulative effect is undeniably powerful, and evocative of the depression and weight that Cobain's surrogate (Blake) falls under. Fans of Nirvana may well be left disappointed by the film's unwillingness to shed any new light or information on events, but it strives to be more than a chronicle of a suicide. Throughout, Van Sant uses religious imagery and biblical references in a subtle attempt to show tragic figures like Cobain (and also River Phoenix) as messianic figures for the X generation.