"The Last September" takes place in 1920 in Ireland, where Lois(Keeley Hawes) is coming of age as a member of the ruling Anglo-Irish ruling class while Ireland is gaining its independence. This is not good news as far as her family is concerned, considering they will probably have to soon vacate the premises but they
are acting as if nothing is the matter. In fact, they invite their free-spirited relation, Marda(Fiona Shaw), for the weekend. "The Last September" has little plot and concerns itself more with place and time setting the mood but the movie is too similar to "Rules of the Game" and "May Fools" for it to be successful. It wastes a very good cast which includes Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Jane Birkin. At the heart of the movie are issues of identity and class. The ruling class identifies themselves as Irish even though the native population disagrees and thinks of them as English.
February 15, 2006
