Last Days (2005 film)

Last Days
Last Days
Directed by	Gus Van Sant
Written by	Gus Van Sant
Produced by	Dany Wolf; Gus Van Sant
Starring	Michael Pitt; Lukas Haas; Asia Argento; Scott Green; Nicole Vicius; Kim Gordon; Harmony Korine
Distributed by	Newco, Fine Line Features
Release date	22 July 2005
Running time	97 min.
Language	English

Last Days (2005) is a film by director Gus Van Sant, and is a fictionalized account of the last days of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. It was released to theaters in the United States on July 22, 2005, and was produced by HBO. The film stars Michael Pitt as the character Blake, based on Kurt Cobain. Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth), Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, and Thadeus A. Thomas (real-life Yellow Book salesman) also star in the film. Director and friend of Van Sant's, Harmony Korine, appears in a brief club scene as well, playing a character similar to one in the movie Kids.

Background

Van Sant said he thought about the project for nearly a decade. At one stage, he wanted to do a Cobain biopic, but decided against the idea out of fear of being sued by Cobain's widow, Courtney Love. He was not sure how Cobain's fans and family would react to the film. He spoke to Love several times over the years about his project and recently expressed his concern that it may be painful for her to see the film. Actress Asia Argento, who plays a dead-beat character in the film, stated, "It's been written that I play Courtney Love, and it's not true. I'm so upset. I don't know why people say that. I feel very sorry for her. She's been demonised and I feel sorry for anybody that's lost like that. But no, I play a character that's very dorky." [1]

Last Days was nominated at the Independent Film Spirit awards for Best Cinematography.

Plot

The plot follows Blake, an alienated and disenchanted rock star who is escaping his turbulent life by isolating himself at his mansion. He eludes a private detective looking for him and ignores his ex-wife's demands that he come home. Blake spends much of the film walking around, muttering to himself. He sometimes wears a dress and plays music (including a particularly haunting scene in which he plays "Death to Birth", a song written by Michael Pitt himself). At one point, he goes out to a seedy rock club, then returns home, where he dies, presumably by suicide. His friends and associates flee to avoid suspicion.

Much like the real-life Kurt Cobain case, the ending is left ambiguous. A mysterious figure in red can be seen wandering around the greenhouse Blake dies in before and after he is killed.

Cast

Actor	Role	Based on
Michael Pitt	Blake	Kurt Cobain
Lukas Haas	Luke
Asia Argento	Asia
Jared Solano	Jared
Scott Patrick Green	Scott	Michael 'Cali' Dewitt
Nicole Vicius	Nicole
Ricky Jay	Detective	Tom Grant
Ryan Orion	Donovan	Dylan Carlson
Harmony Korine	Guy in Club
Rodrigo Lopresti	Band in Club (The Hermitt)
Kim Gordon	Record Executive	Danny Goldberg
Adam Friberg	Elder Friberg #1
Andy Friberg	Elder Friberg #2
Thadeus A. Thomas	Yellow Pages Salesman	(His real-life job)

Relation to other Van Sant films

File:Harmonyk.png

Harmony Korine as Guy In Club

Last Days is the third, and supposedly final installment, in what Van Sant has frequently called his "Death Trilogy", which began with Gerry and continued with Elephant. The most obvious similar trait in this trilogy of unrelated plots is that the dialogue and narration are minimal, and not linearly connected. The technique is especially similar to Elephant, where scenes are revisited from new angles, starting at differing points in time, without a signal that the clock was turned back at some point. As in Gerry, the camera's attention is frequently diverted from the drama, by attachment to some situational detail. All three films are resistant to easy explanation, but they share the theme of (among other things) extreme isolation (physical in Gerry, social in Elephant, and mental in Last Days).

Music

Last Days also features two original compositions by lead actor Michael Pitt, an acoustic song entitled "Death to Birth", an electric jam called "That Day", as well as another piece, "Untitled", by fellow actor Lukas Haas. The character of Scott listens to "Venus in Furs" by the Velvet Underground in the living room scene. Pitt's character is shown writing with his left hand but playing guitar right-handed, in contrast to Cobain's left-handed guitar playing.

Filming location

The film was shot in the Hudson Valley region of New York state, although its aesthetic style, due largely in part to cinematographer Harris Savides' specialized treatment of the film stock, suggests the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, where both Cobain and Van Sant find their roots.

External links