Last Call (originally titled Dominion) is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Steven Bernstein. It is a surrealistic biopic, which recreates the life of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas through flashbacks during the famous drinking binge at the White Horse Tavern in New York City which ended fatally during the fall of 1953.
| Dominion | |
|---|---|
 Official film poster for Last Call | |
| Directed by | Steven Bernstein |
| Written by | Steven Bernstein |
| Produced by | Richard N. Gladstein John Malkovich Carolyn Rodney Nolan Mcdonald Sohrab Lutchmedial |
| Starring | Rhys Ifans Rodrigo Santoro John Malkovich Romola Garai Zosia Mamet Tony Hale |
| Cinematography | Antal Steinbach |
| Edited by | Zimo Huang Chris Gill |
| Music by | Steven Bramson |
Production company | |
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The unfinished film was screened at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival.[1] The worldwide sales rights were acquired by Lightning Entertainment in November 2017.[2]
Cast
edit- Rhys Ifans as Dylan Thomas
- Rodrigo Santoro as Carlos
- John Malkovich as Dr. Felton
- Romola Garai as Caitlin Thomas
- Zosia Mamet as Penelope
- Tony Hale as John Malcolm Brinnin
- Philip Ettinger as Alexi
- Jonathan Higgins as Julian
- Arthur Holden as Dean
- Ellen David as Dorothy
- Andrew Shaver as Reggie
- Jeremy Ferdman as Michael
- Noel Burton as Jeremy
- Guy Sprung as Felix
- Michael Riendeau as Colm Thomas
- Mike Paterson as Teddy
Production
editThe film was shot in 2014. On May 1, 2014, Rhys Ifans, John Malkovich and Diego Luna joined the cast.[3] On May 29, 2014, Rodrigo Santoro joined the cast.[4] Principal photography began on May 23, 2014, and ended on June 23, 2014. Post-production was completed in January 2020.[5][6]
The film ran into financial difficulties during the last week of filming when extras and technicians were not paid for the work they had done when the production ran out of money.[7] Though producers insisted the crew would be paid, in 2015, extras and crew signed an open letter to Pierre Lescure, the president of the Cannes Film Festival, asking them to ban Dominion from being screened at the festival until they were paid, while the producers argued that the incomplete film would benefit from being shown at Cannes, where they could find investors.[8]
Reception
editThe unfinished film was very well reviewed at The Rio Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter said: "Dominion's daring never becomes pretentiousness, and its sincere struggle to get to the heart of the endlessly fascinating Thomas myth — one with contemporary resonances, in its take on celebrity — finally makes the film as rewarding as it is uncomfortable..."[1] ISTOE, one of Brazil's three leading magazines said: "Also worthy of an Oscar is Rhys Ifans in Steven Bernstein's Dominion."[9] Luiz Carlos Merten for ESTADAO said: "Rhys Ifans' performance as the poet is Oscar worthy." and "Rodrigo (Santoro) could compete for best supporting."[10] Plano Critico said: "Certainly one of the best films of the year" "Dominion is one of those films that leaves us completely in love with it, a cinematographic work with identity, both as textual imagery, which immerses us completely in this dizzying trajectory of Dylan Thomas."[11]
A work in progress version of the film was also very well reviewed at The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Aurelia Aasa, film critic for Postimees Culture said: "...one of the most aesthetically pleasing and poetic films at PÖFF this year..."[12] Ben Nicholson of "Cine Vue" named "Dominion" as one of the Top Ten Picks of the festival and said: "a virtuoso performance from Ifans – he’s pompous, verbose, and charismatic."[13]
Awards
editThe unfinished film won the Best Actor award for Rhys Ifans's performance as Dylan Thomas at the 2017 POFF Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[14] POFF Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is the largest film festival in Northern Europe.
References
edit- ^ a b Holland, Jonathan (11 October 2016). "'Dominion': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "AFM: Lightning Takes Rights to Rhys Ifans' 'Dominion' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.com. November 1, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Rhys Ifans, John Malkovich, Diego Luna Star in Dylan Thomas Biopic (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "'300' Thesp Rodrigo Santoro Joins Dylan Thomas Feature 'Dominion'". Deadline. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "On The Set For 5/27/14: Johnny Depp Starrer 'Black Mass' Starts For Warner Bros., 'Jem and the Holograms' Wraps". ssninsider.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "Saint John movie shoot attracts 250 actors from region". cbc.ca. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "Big-time movie with Saint John roots out of money". Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ André, Duschene (23 March 2015). "Une querelle autour du film Dominion se transporte à Cannes". La Presse. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "No festival do Rio, apelo ao entendimento e Rodrigo Santoro no júri - ISTOÉ Independente". ISTOE.com.br. October 8, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Festival do Rio 2/Poesia em debate, ou O tango de Rodrigo". Estadao.com.br. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Crítica - Dominion (2016)". PlanoCritico.com. October 14, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Dylan Thomas laseb viskiga immutatud poeesiat". Postimees.ee. 29 November 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Tallinn 2017: Our picks of the Black Nights festival". Cine-Vue.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "'Night Accident' Wins Grand Prix at Tallinn Black Nights Film Fest". HollywoodReporter.com. 2 December 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.