Last Call
When “Last Call” begins, we think the top and bottom of the frame is connected, with the woman on the bottom (Beth, played by Sarah Booth), calling, and getting frustrated, that the man on the top (Scott, played by Daved Wilkins) is not home yet; he is at a bar after work. It will not be long, however, before their lives intersect, on opposite sides of a call that will have a profound impact on both lives.
Single-take movies are, no doubt, a logistical challenge. “Last Call” has two single takes, which hold through the duration of its 75 minutes, as we see the situation play out from both Beth and Scott’s perspective. There are not the geographical challenges of a movie like “1917” or “Birdman,” however- “Last Call” takes place primarily in Scott’s apartment and Beth’s place of work- but Seth Wessel-Estes’s camera still has an important part to play, and the way each side is framed is key to the way the film plays emotionally. When the two sides are on top of one another, we’re in a moment of transition in the story, but when Beth and Scott are talking, they become equals, one on the left, one on the right. The camera, and the music by Adrian Ellis (very effective, but probably a bit too insistent), are storytelling tools which co-writer/director Gavin Michael Booth uses to great effect in this film.
“Last Call” has a lot on its mind. Grief, loneliness, emotional pain, the need for a connection, the anxiety of being a parent, and how, sometimes, the universe pushes us in a direction we didn’t think we needed to go. When Scott first calls Beth, she has arrived at the office she works at basically as an overnight janitor, and we think one thing about the office. As the conversation continues, however, we learn that it’s not what we think- although it does help people in need- but it was a number Scott just saw on the side of a bus. He’s calling it at the lowest of low points for him, and Beth is not prepared to deal with the issues he’s struggling with. That sets up a dynamic we do not expect going in to the call, where Beth is learning how to handle a crisis call on the fly, and the way she gets Scott to open up to him is impressive after some early stumbles. She gets just enough information out of him that she can do something with when the situation starts to go south, and the way the tension is built up makes the two-sides storytelling all the more effective.
The last fifteen minutes of this film floored me. There’s something profound and authentic in the performances that builds up to this conclusion to where it’s hard to imagine someone NOT feeling something by the end. We know these people, we empathize with them, and we want to see them come out on the other end differently. In a film that comes down to choices made, the ones made at the end of “Last Call” are powerful, and because we understand them, leave their mark. That doesn’t happen very often.
Last Call | Official Trailer from Gavin Michael Booth on Vimeo.
