That Good Night

Take away the mystique of this being John Hurt's last film and you're not left with anything substantial.

I'm not familiar with the age of the original play but the premise and themes explored such as mortality, parenthood, redemption excetera have become well used in recent years. Even decades.

Despite these heavy subject matters, it all feels rather thin on the ground. John Hurt and Charles Dance are both giants but they've been far better in many other films. Ironically they both appeared in the Alien series but not together. The short scenes they do share together however, are enjoyable.

For a more solid film on these subjects see Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, which is much better written, more subtle, better dialogue and more moving with powerhouse performances by Richard Harris and Robert Duvall. That was made 25 years before this, which is part of the issue. That Good Night feels thematically dated. At least in execution.

I really wanted to like this film far more than I did and despite it's lush photography, setting and music, it all felt a little cliche sadly. The last minute is quite moving but it's not enough to rescue the whole.