The Last Supper
Summary Five liberal Iowa Graduate students share a house and carry on a tradition of a large Sunday dinner. For a year now they have been inviting a guest for dinner and discussion. On this occasion one of the roommates, Pete (Ron Eldard), brings home a stranger who picked him up when his car broke down. The stranger is Zack (Bill Paxton) who appears like a decent enough good Samaritan. Nothing could be further from the truth. After some dinner conversation it appears that Zack is, among other things, a racist "You know my Grandfather once said that if he knew you coloreds were going to be so much trouble we'd have picked the damn cotton ourselves", and an anti-Semite. An argument escalates at the dinner table and leads to violence. After Zack assaults Marc (Jonathan Penner) and Pete, Zack is killed. The roommates are at odds with what to do. Marc, Pete and Paulie (Annabeth Gish) immediately wish to call the police. Luke (Courtney B. Vance) and Jude (Cameron Diaz) suggest something different. After more discussion they agree to dispose of the body and cover it up. They do not want to be sent to jail for what they feel was a justifiable homicide. When it is done the roommates realize that it was easier than they thought. So easy in fact that they decide that every Sunday their dinner guest would be someone who opposes of their views. If they all agree that the guest deserves to die, they will poison them and bury them in the back yard. The back yard fills up rather quickly, its' victims including (among others) a right to life extremist, an anti-environmentalist and a homophobe. By the time the roommates get to their tenth victim they begin to question their methods. Are they giving the guests a chance? Are they even giving them good food anymore?
Commentary
This film is what I like to call a "hidden treasure". This film is such a pleasant surprise. A well written, devilish satire that is funny, sexy and original. This film should be a hit, but I guess the fact that it apparently had no marketing wouldn't give it much of a chance. I had never heard of it until I saw a copy at my video store. Stacy Title does a wonderful job directing. She somehow finds the time to give all of the characters enough screen time to develop a distinct personality. >From the five members of the house to other key characters including Sheriff Stanley (Nora Dunn), the local law closing in on the truth, and the dream dinner guest, Norman Arbuthnot (Ron Perlman), a Rush Limbaugh clone who should be the roommates easiest kill. Perlman gives the films' best performance. He finds the right note as the right wing big mouth who simultaneously offends and gains followers, and may just inadvertently talk his way out of death. The other actors are convincing as well, as all of the roommates deal with their murderous ways. Some of the characters appear to be heading down the road towards insanity, while others grieve their decisions. When friends ask me to recommend a movie, this is usually the first one I think of. I am not saying that this is my favorite movie (although it is in my top ten), but because the film was such a wonderful surprise, I have a fondness for it. I also try to recommend films like this: ones that have not been seen by many people, but should.
The Last Supper ***** (out of five)
Directed by Stacy Title Jude........Cameron Diaz Pete.........Ron Eldard Paulie.........Annabeth Gish Marc.......Jonathan Penner Luke........Courtney P. Vance Norman Arbuthnot...Ron Perlman Sheriff Stanley....Nora Dunn
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