When London butcher Jack Dodds (Michael Caine) dies, his buddies are left to carry out his last wishes: to take his ashes and dispose of them off the pier in the seaside town of Margate. As their sentimental journey begins and their own emotional mysteries unfold, they try to come to terms with Jack's death by reliving their lives with him. Flashbacks of the group's younger days shed light on their relationships, providing insights into their long-buried secrets. Meanwhile, with the lads speeding across the Kent countryside in a shiny Mercedes, Jack's wife undertakes her own very significant journey. As the pilgrimage turns into a pub crawl the men discover that through it all, it's your friends who break your heart - and your friends who mend it.
Special Agent Matti
A good but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at making a warm, fuzzy film about fellowship. Fred Schepisi makes a good attempt but the story is too obvious to work well. I'm is not saying that there are no twists or turns but that Last orders is too deeply rooted in the genre to be anything else. Genre is as genre does.
On the other hand (I have a lot of hands), ensemble fellowship films are always full of fun, humour, wit, love, poignancy and dreams of what might have been. Last orders is not lacking in any of these areas, and with the drama of war a constant memory to some of the characters there is plenty of overpowering emotion.
If you like a nice hot cup of tea in the afternoon you'll like taking a pint with the boys in Last orders, but it's not worth missing Coronation Street or Eastenders.
M (Medium level sex scene, low level coarse language)
106 minutes (1:46 hours)
Film: 11 July 2002
DVD rental: 14 May 2003
VHS rental: 14 May 2003