A movie can be good, it can be bad, but it must never be boring. Thankfully, “boring” is the last word you would use to describe Last Looks. This detective comedy follows Charlie Waldo (Charlie Hunnam), employed by Hollywood actor Alastair Pinch (Mel Gibson) to figure out who killed Pinch’s wife, with Alastair the prime suspect. Charismatic performances from Hunnam and Gibson keep you engaged with the characters and their journeys.
However, the mix of dramatic and comedic tones does at times make it feel like Hunnam and director Tim Kirkby were on different pages when creating the film, as Hunnam delivers emotionally dramatic moments while Kirkby frames them with comedic cinematography. This dichotomy continues in Gibson’s charismatic yet all-over-the-place accent. In the end, though, this is still not the most memorable part of the film. That goes to Hunnam’s facial hair, as it acts as a key narrative beat in a subplot that feels rather strange in the grand scheme of things.
What Is ‘Last Looks’ About?

When we first meet Waldo, he is the furthest thing one would expect from a private detective. Rather than the typical alcoholic, trauma-filled hardened man, what we get is a shaggy-bearded, meditating, spiritual recluse. In a way, the isolationist aspect of the character is similar to the tropes we would see in a show like Luther. However, when an old friend, Lorena (Morena Baccarin), asks for his help in proving the innocence of Alastair Pinch, Waldo is forced into the investigation when his life is threatened by gangsters, and his pride pushes him to get justice. As he delves deeper into Hollywood, his love for investigating returns in a unique way to what we are used to in this genre, including the shaving of his facial hair, which surprisingly acts as a pivotal character beat.
‘Last Looks’ Is a Comedic Thriller That Has Trouble With Its Tone

Last Looks combines the dramatic elements of a crime thriller with comedic traits to create something memorable — yet also confusing — when it comes to Hunnam’s performance. While Hunnam handles the comedy excellently, with scenes of him berating young men who beat him up on the antagonist’s orders or making fun of Clancy Brown’s chief of police, his dramatic scenes can feel undercut by the movie’s overall silliness. When Hunnam’s Waldo breaks down over Lorena’s supposed death, the way the film suddenly shifts from Waldo being a cocky know-it-all to a weepy mess is powerful. But, when he walks outside to get his bike, only to find someone else had locked theirs to him, the almost slapstick anger of Waldo yanking the bikes in a mid-shot frames this emotional reaction as funny, as we see him as a bystander rather than having the camera closer up to put us into Waldo’s grief.

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“We are not a gang. We are a family.”

Gibson excels as the enigmatic Pinch, but his accent is certainly not perfect, turning into the typical Australian twang most Americans turn to when attempting to be British. It makes it hard to determine what tone Gibson wants to convey, which also bleeds through to the rest of the movie. Does it want you to cry or laugh? It can be both, but it feels like we flip between these tones within scenes rather than make a longer-term shift that would feel more palatable.
Charlie Hunnam’s Character Arc in ‘Last Looks’ Feels Uneven

Image via RLJE Films 

Throughout the film, it is very difficult to tell what stage Hunnam’s Waldo is at in his journey to return to the life of a private investigator. Despite seeming to take every step to spite everyone around him, by the end, we are supposed to believe he has truly recaptured the love of the job that he supposedly lost. When this culminates in his facial hair being shaven off by a kindergarten teacher that he begins a relationship with, Jayne (Lucy Fry), it feels like a 180º turn for a character who has gone from hating being in this world of mysteries to loving it for not much reason, changing not just his spirit but his entire look. This also means we feel like what we saw in the first act feels completely pointless, as Waldo doesn’t learn how to combine the two lifestyles, but abandons one for the other. Last Looks is odd, strange, and very uneven, but it’s undeniably a lot of fun and worth the watch for any crime comedy fan.

Last Looks

Release Date

January 27, 2022

Runtime

111 minutes

Director

Tim Kirkby

Producers

Andrew Lazar, Charlie Hunnam, Phil Hunt, Steven Shainberg, Ali Jazayeri, Christina Weiss Lurie, Compton Ross, Brian Pitt, David Gendron, Brad Feinstein