New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter's wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting - or else.
Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot.
Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother, is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion.
The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another's lives.
Special Agent Matti
Last chance Harvey is a quietly humorous romantic movie for people over 40. It's full of little observances of the Grumpy Old Men variety (tags on clothing, unmannered younger generation) which is where the quiet humour comes from. It is also full of the obstacles we put in the way of romance which is, after all, extraordinarily annoying when you could be curling up on the couch with a good book and a nice cup of tea. And maybe a digestive.
The drama, romance movie Last chance Harvey is directed by Joel Hopkins and stars Dustin Hoffman, Eileen Atkins, Emma Thompson.
PG (Mild coarse language)
93 minutes (1:33 hours)
Film: 26 February 2009
