A very difficult genre to master is the dark comedy. The director, writer and
actors must tread the thin line between getting the laugh and disgusting the
audience. One film that teeters on the line of good taste yet never falls over
the edge is The Last Supper. Made in 1995 this film is a combination of
excellent actors, a gifted writer and talented director. The setting is a
country home used by five very liberal graduate students. They meet each week in
the house they share for a dinner and intellectual discussion of ‘important
issues’. The group consists of the beautiful blonde Jude (Cameron Diaz), the
serious girl Paulie (Annabeth Gish), the liberal black man Luke (Courtney B.
Vance), shy Pete (Ron Eldard) and the more forceful Marc (Jonathan Penner). One
stormy night (isn’t always a dark and stormy night?) Pete has trouble on the
road and is picked up by a red neck veteran of Desert Storm, Zack (Bill Paxton).
To thank the stranger they invite him to stay for dinner. Over the supper Zack
eposes his views of the world including the way liberals like to talk about
saving the world but actually do nothing real towards that end. As the
conversation becomes more heated then violent Zack attacks Marc. Pete tries to
help and receives a broken arm for his trouble. Partly out in defense and
partially from anger Marc kills Zack. Not only does the group conspire to hide
the murder the come up with an idea. By killing Zach they actually improved the
world by removing a potential Hitler. Yes they do tend to exaggerate just a bit.
As liberals they feel it is their responsibility to rid the world of those
ignorant of their noble liberal doctrine. Now, they don’t want to be cruel in
their removal of these blights on society so they devise a plan to serve poison
wine with dessert. If the dinner conversation shows they should live one bottle
of good wine is served, if not the fatal beverage is offered. Its simple, good
person, green bottle, bad gets the blue. Soon the conservative guests parade
into dinner and finally back out to a shallow grave ending up as really great
food for the group’s organic tomatoes. It is the dinner conversation that really
makes the writing of this film. Almost every topic imaginable is discussed from
abortion, to curing homosexuality, to a man that feels that there is no such
crime as rape. When one guest shows up with a swastika the fatal wine comes out
before the first course, ‘why waste good food?" This film is not a banner held
by either the right or left wings. Both sides are equally shown as intolerant
and self righteous. Part of the dark humor is in the fact that the grad school
five seem oblivious to this.
When I first saw this film on one of the independent film channels on cable I
was drawn in by the cast. Some of my favorite actors are present in this flick
either as victim or perpetrator. Diaz goes beyond the role she typically held at
that time as the silly blond. Here she is intelligent and is often part of
greatly presented dialogue. Gish, best known for her work in Mystic Pizza, is
one of the most under utilized actors of our time. She plays a perfect counter
point not only to Diaz but against the rest of the cast as well. Penner still
comes off a bit like the jock of the group. Married to the director may have
helped but he certainly earned his place in this stellar cast. He also served as
co executive producer. Vance is an incredibly powerful presence in this film. He
is obviously the controlling force in the group. As the leader he is out of his
league. It is one thing to moderate a lively discussion among friends but Luke
is forced into the head of a murder club. Among the better dinners is Charles
Durning as a homophobe minister and Mark Harmon as the ultimate sexist pig.
Topping off the conservative dinner guest is Ron Perlman as a form of Rush
Limbage. His end game with the group is a mastery of dialogue and scene
direction. Also look for Saturday Night Live alum Nora Dunn as the sheriff that
inadvertently discovers the covert activities.
Stacy Title directed this dark comedy. She has only directed three films,
this being the middle one, but each one is an atmospheric delight. Check out Let
the Devil Wear Black if you like Last Supper. She stages the like one of those
off Broadway productions in Greenwich Village I used to love to watch. There is
simplicity in the almost one set production that provides enough of a setting
without distracting from the cutting words of the script or acting on the part
of the cast. She knows her way around lighting and how to place her actors for
the maximum use of her cast. Title gives enough direction to the fine cast to
let each of them create a personality and run with it. There is a sense of
intimacy that draws the audience into the plot and the lives of the culprits. I
enjoyed how this film was present and it remains an all time favorite.
The disc is typical of so many of these little independent gems, plain
vanilla. The extras are little more a couple of trailers. The audio is a clear
Dolby Surround with a fairly well done anamorphic 1.85:1 video. Columbia/Tristar
has really been coming to the forefront of providing these little know films to
serious DVD collectors. This is not a perfect film; the scenes with the guests
can seem a bit repetitive but for me it works. It is a film that dares to take
more than a few chances and I have to respect that as a person that truly enjoys
the media of film. If you want an entertaining movie that will make you laugh
and give you interesting dinner conversation of your own this is a film to own.
Posted 1/23/03