Movie Review: Last Moment of Clarity

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Just released this week by Lionsgate, Last Moment of Clarity is an edge-of-your-seat thriller with some hints of film noir, a bow to Hitchcock’s Rear Window and a love story with a surprise ending. The film opens in Paris, where wonderfully shadowy cinematography sets the tone right away, and we meet Sam (Zach Avery) in his dingy apartment and we know immediately he’s slightly unhinged and a man with too much on his mind.

He is obsessed with his former girlfriend Georgia, played by Samara Weaving (who we saw in the fabulous Netflix series Hollywood). Sam believed Georgia was killed by Bulgarian mobsters, but later sees an actress in a Hollywood movie who he thinks looks remarkably like Georgia. He immediately goes to Los Angeles to see if it could possibly be true. While in Los Angeles, he meets up with Kat (Carly Chaikin), his old friend’s little sister he knew in high school, who quickly becomes his trusted confidante in his search for the truth.

There are no flat characters in this story and each one, no matter how small the role, delivers wonderfully surprising depth. Pasha Lychnikoff plays the mysterious Eastern European bad guy Karl who wants Sam dead. Brian Cox plays Gilles, Sam’s wise boss and good friend, a Scotsman living in Paris, who loves it there except for the fact that Paris is full of French people.

We see some elements of Hitchcock in the cinematography and overall theme, but to call the movie “Hitchcockian” would be a disservice to directors Colin and James Krisel, who, although the Hitchcock influence is undeniable, have a style and flair all their own. Last Moment of Clarity is their directorial debut, and they have quickly mastered the art of the thriller. For the first time in the director’s chair, the Krisels nailed it – and we want to see more.

Outstanding movie and thrilling storyline. Zach Avery gave a memorable and striking portrayal of a troubled man, and of course, after Hollywood we’ll watch anything with Samara Weaving in it. The Vivant rates Last Moment of Clarity FIVE STARS.

 

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