"The Last Station" Premier

One of the not-so-great things about living in Boise, aside from the horrible weather, the lack of sun for a good portion of the year, running into everyone and their dog everywhere you go, etc., is the fact that, during the winter, there is rarely anything fun to do. Sure, there is skiing or going to the movies or going to the ballet, but that gets very, very old after a while. Plus, when there aren't a ton of good movies that come out, one may be forced into sitting through two hours of "Dear John." Nicholas Sparks: die.

This is not to say that Boise isn't great. I guess growing up here, I'm slightly jaded. Occasionally, however, fun and exciting things do happen. Noted film director Michael Hoffman is a graduate of Boise State University, and as such, feels he has roots here in the community. This works out nicely for people like me who yearn for more when he directs a new movie and brings the premier back to Boise.

I was fortunate enough to be in a sound financial position to purchase tickets (well, I gave up booze and decided I did not need a new pair of running shoes) so that I could go to the premier of "The Last Station" with my friend, LaDawn. (P.S. all proceeds from this film went towards the Boise Contemporary Theatre and The Agency for New Americans).


"The Last Station" is a film about the end of the life of Leo Tolstoy. Now I have to admit, I've never read Tolstoy, nor do I have any real desire to. My understanding is that _War and Peace_ is like 1000 pages. Thanks, but no thanks. I have Netflix. I'm sure there's a movie adaptation somewhere. But, according to the film I watched last night, Tolstoy apparently had a huge following of people. Maybe I should wikipedia him and find out a little more. (Wikipedia tells me that he was a "Christian Anarchist" and preached "nonviolent resistance." Fascinating). I move on.

So the film last night starred James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren and Paul Giamatte, none of whom actually came to Boise for the premier but hey, we can't all be cool like Matt Damon or Michelle Pfeiffer, right? Rather than give you an entire synopsis of the film, which I'm sure you could google (or you could actually fork over the $9 and go see it, yes), I'm going to use this opportunity to do what I do best: criticize everything.

Truth be told, I thought the film was fantastic. Maybe it was the Chardonnay, maybe it was because it was Thursday and I was so emotionally elated at the thought of the end of the week, but I was completely emotionally moved by this film. I cried. Twice. Not just little tears either, mind you. BIG tears. I tried to stop myself because I spent a good portion of the afternoon carefully applying my eyeliner, but then I remembered it was waterproof and quit caring so much. From what I gathered, this Tolstoy character was an asshole. I mean, truly an asshole. He sort of reminds me of those people that are all pretentious and nonchalant but really just come across as total douches. Despite the fact, though, that I wanted to kick Tolstoy in the balls for leaving his wife, the way Hoffman presented the characters really made you feel for their plights. The relationship between Tolstoy and his wife, Sofya, was so carefully constructed that despite the fact that you thought Tolstoy was an ass, there was still that emotional connection with him. This is what saved the entire overarching theme of the movie: the complexity of marriage. Yeah, sure, it was about a lot of other stuff, too, but what it ultimately came down to was this intricate bond between a man and a woman who had spent the majority of their lives together and knew everything about each other, yet, in the end, could not stand to be around each other (well, Tolstoy had an issue being around his wife. She was pissed because he changed his will to give all his money to the poor people of Russia. I would be super pissed, too). But these characters grow and change, and their complexities and emotions and interactions are so well-developed, THAT is what makes this film truly amazing.

So moral: go see it. I promise you'll like it.

We also had tickets to the reception following the film, which was wonderful because it gave me a chance to ask a director a question that, well, I'd always wanted to ask a director. I'm assuming that one of the things directors do is try to elicit a specific emotional response in the audience. But because emotions are truly subjective, the way I feel a specific emotion may not be the way Michael Hoffman feels that same emotion. I wanted to know what it is like, as a director, to sit and watch the final product--what sort of emotions does one feel when they watch something that was created by them?

So I've gotta be honest--by this point, I had had five glasses of Chardonnay. I can't remember exactly what he said (shit, I don't quite remember LaDawn driving me home last night), but I know it involved something along the lines of a lot of editing and a lot of time trying to get the exact movie he wanted. And how so many times while making this film (five years in Eastern Germany...suck) he didn't think it was actually going to happen. But he also talked about the financial pressures of making a movie and how you want your movie to be successful but you also want it to stay true to what you want.

Okay, so it's no secret that I want to work in movies. I want to create pieces of art that truly reach people on an emotional level, and I'm so pissed that so much of Hollywood has become about profit. What happened to making movies simply for the love of making movies? Of creating things that span across different people in different places, reaching them on different levels? Why are there so many shitty movies out there that people pay to see? I don't understand! I had this horrible realization that I had paid $11 in Santa Monica to sit through quite possibly one of the worst films of my life (Dear John) and that someone actually took the time to make it because they knew that there were idiot people out there who just lap shit like that up. UGH. If Nicholas Sparks really feels an emotional connection with the shit he writes, I'm going to personally bitch-slap him.

I think I'm starting to rant now. I'm going to wrap this up. Here is a picture of LaDawn and I with Mr. Hoffman:



Thanks old lady who took the photo and didn't tell us she was taking the photo.

Also, I would like to say thank you to Meryl Streep for not having the time to be in this film because Helen Mirren is a way better actor than you, and super, super hot for an older lady and it was an absolute pleasure watching her.

So yes, go see "The Last Station." Fantastic film and you will not be disappointed. It is kind of long, so I recommend going to the Flicks to see it (if you're in Boise) so you can take some wine in with you.