Lucky

In terms of actors, there were very few like Harry Dean Stanton. He could bring emotion and eccentricity to a role like few others. Whether it being a "space trucker" in Alien, Molly Ringwald's father in Pretty in Pink or any one of his collaborations with David Lynch, Stanton was a icon of cinema. His presence though always felt like seeing an old friend, a sense of comfort seeing his withered, story driven face. Other than Paris Texas, Stanton was only litigated to supporting and minor roles in films. Appropriately, for one of his final performances, Stanton was given the chance in the spotlight again.

Lucky isn't a film about much. Directed by John Carroll Lynch (another great character actor) in his directorial debut, it simply follows the everyday routine of Lucky (played by Stanton) and the interactions he has with many of the local townsfolk. Lucky seemed like the role that Harry Dean was always born to play. It could almost be considered a companion piece to the 2013 documentary on Stanton, Partly Fiction. It incorporates much of Stanton's real-life philosophy, dry wit and even his musical ability into the final product as well. It feels like Lucky is just an extension of Stanton's personality which is absolutely wonderful. He was born to play this role and it would be a crime to see anyone else play Lucky. There's wonderful cameos from many different great actors including Ron Livingston, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr and of course his long-time collaborator David Lynch. All of them bring a wonderful warmth to their performance, despite their brief screen time (Lynch in particular, has a wonderful monologue about his lost tortoise 'President Roosevelt').

This is very much a character piece over a narrative piece which may put some viewers off. However, to anyone that enjoys these types of movies with philosophical contemplation with wonderful characters and dialogue, this is certainly a movie for you. It serves as a great ending to Hollywood's best character actor.

Please disregard that review by an IMDb user who claims to "Crave intellectual depth" but is clearly unable to recognize it, and cannot see beyond the superficial.

It proves what Lucky says in the film: "I always thought that the one thing we could agree on is what we were looking at...but that's bullshit, because what I see isn't what you see."

Mr. Stanton's powerful, truth-telling performance is at turns heartbreaking, uplifting, hilarious, and inspiring.

Please do yourself a favor and see this very special film.

2017 saw the passing of both Harry Dean Stanton and Sam Shepard, two-thirds of the creative triumvirate behind the classic 1984 road movie / western PARIS, TEXAS. Wim Wenders and Shephard contrived to give Stanton - a career character actor - one of the greatest roles in twentieth century cinema and he owned every guilt-ridden moment of that film. John Carroll Lynch, in many ways a modern day Stanton, uses his directorial debut to showcase the ninety-year-old Stanton's formidable cussedness and aching vulnerability in a way that is as perfect a bookend to an acting career as GRAN TORINO was to Clint Eastwood.

LUCKY is a deceptively simple tale of a determinedly alone old naval officer, who has got to the stage in life where even his doctor (a fabulous cameo from Ed Begley Jr.) has nothing to tell him when he takes a dizzy tumble. This is an old man, going about things the only way he knows how. His days are a series of little routines sparingly conveyed through repetition and variation in the first half of the film. He knows he is going to die, he knows this scares him, but he also knows there is little else he can do other than persist, like the best of Samuel Beckett's characters.

There is something a little reminiscent of another Wenders' film in LUCKY, namely LIGHTNING OVER WATER. In that part-documentary, Wenders' sought to approach his own fear of death through the imminent mortality of veteran Hollywood filmmaker and close friend Nicholas Ray. Carroll Lynch is similarly engaging with the genuine fears of vulnerabilities of the ageing Stanton, as a means of tapping in to a wider understanding of what death is and what it means.

The film vacillates between profound human empathy and a less appealing, although far less prominent, sentimentality. It is often at its strongest in the barroom scenes in which Lucky goes through the motions of his compromised masculinity and desperately rails against and longs for the reckoning that remains a few miles further down the road. Carroll Lynch keeps the overall tone light and as sunny as the Californian landscape that his film cleaves to, which only makes moments like when Stanton lets rip with a Mariachi band all the more poignant, urgent and arresting. With some great supporting turns from the likes of David Lynch, Tom Skerritt and Ron Livingston, this perfectly formed, smallscale movie, has much bigger concerns at its heart.

Just recently saw an independent film called "Lucky" with the now late character actor Harry Dean Stanton and clearly it was a touching swan song for Harry and for those who viewed it. Stanton is Lucky a living 90 year old man who's probably at the end of the tunnel despite okay health. And you guessed it he's set in his ways especially with the belief that he doesn't want to face death or he's not too set on the believe of a higher power.

Living in the southwest Lucky's days are spent walking, and going to the local bar and diner to drink and he passes his time during the day after getting up working puzzles and watching game shows. Plus he even smokes some weed with a new African American female friend. And the chats and visits with locals and friends help Lucky move along.

Still thru it all this old man is set in his ways he who doesn't want new acceptance or change in which he fears in his small town life it's a long last reflection on life and being who he is. The supporting cast is well rounded here with David Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skeritt and others. Overall well done film of one looking at their life and surroundings and coming to terms with time and reflection without change.

Lucky is both eerie and alluring in that it hasn't just turned out to be Harry Dean Stanton's swan song, it's as if all of those involved in the making of it were watching the Grim Reaper approach Mr. Stanton from a distance during filming.They were certainly aware - and impressed - that he was 90 years old. There's not a bad performance in the whole film; everyone gives a thoughtful, elegant performance as if there is no room for childishness in the presence of the approaching death of their friend. Surely Mr. Stanton could feel to the core that his days were numbered, and wow did that make for an eloquent performance in a role perfectly suited for him. Despite Lucky being a film about the waning of life, it's not a morose film; the message seems to be that while death is scary, you can still smile at it, and still smile till the end. And while you lose some liveliness as you grow old, that doesn't mean that you have to lose your feistiness. As much as I enjoyed Lucky, I also believe that a good filmmaker could have followed almost any old man for a few weeks with a video camera and come up with an equally interesting film. Lucky is essentially one down-to-earth old man's tale of a rather unexciting present-day life, and that's about it...but maybe that's special in itself. Still, I didn't see a whole lot that was fantastic about it beyond Mr. Stanton's performance. But there's no denying that it's a well-made film, with poignant and sometimes amusing moments, moving stories from the distant past, and many good shots of the desolate, solitary desert.