1998 was a rather odd, ironic movie year for me. I say this because the worst one I saw all year was the wretched blockbuster, Armageddon. What's so odd about that? That the best movie I saw all year also happened to be about the end of the world. No, not that other one starring David Duchovny's wife. It was Don McKellar's absolutely 100% asteroid-free Last Night.

The world is stricken with impending doom, but it's not quite over yet. There are still six hours left! That is the premise of Last Night, a small (actually a large budget by our standards at $2 million) Canadian sci-fi-like drama, set in Toronto. Each character has their own unique way of preparing for the end: Craig (Callum Keith Rennie) wants to go out with a series of bangs, having sex with nearly everyone in every way possible; gas company employee Duncan (David Cronenberg) calls all his customers to assure them that they can count on uninterrupted gas service until the very end; Jennifer (Sarah Polley) and her boyfriend go to a rave, prepared to party like there's no tomorrow (because there isn't one); Sandra (Sandra Oh) tries desperately to make her way across town to be with her husband. She accidentally crosses paths with Patrick, played by Don McKellar who also wrote and directed this film. Although Patrick just wants to face the end in solitude, the two of them end up roaming the mostly deserted city streets in a futile attempt to get her back home. Eventually they meet up with the rest of the cast of characters whose lives are all somehow connected in a Short Cuts-reminiscent way. Patrick, Sandra, Duncan, and Craig all make their own choices, as McKellar wrote them to do. But like the good Canadian boy he is, McKellar politely leaves many of the same questions out in the open for us to draw our own personal conclusions.

This film feels like a triumph to me for so many reasons. Mostly because it is a definitive example of a how Canadians might deal with issues differently than an American Hollywood film. It contains no major special effects, no typical hero who must duke it out with giant flaming rocks, no presidents or gung-ho generals blowing up extra-terrestrials to save our planet. Those heroes may be out there, somewhere, but what about the rest of us civilian suckers who don't have that kind of access to those trusty nuclear bombs? We would be in our own little worlds, either coping or collapsing in the wake of an outdated future.

So, where films like Independence Day, Armageddon and Deep Impact are more concerned with brainless spectacle and the monster that will put an end to our existence, Last Night gives a very Canadian view -- more passive, if not pessimistic. There is absolutely no efforts being performed to stop the inevitable, so we may as well accept it. What's the Canadian way? Just take it quietly (and of course, apologize) when those with more power continue to grind our faces into the cement. But you know what? All of us are gonna die one day. It may not be the first thing you want to think about, particularly while at the movies -- but Last Night takes this sobering, philosophical (and sometimes witty) approach. It doesn't even explain how the world has gotten to the point where it's at. The sky is simply stark white all the time (though this probably was just a clever ploy to never have to shoot nights...) Clearly, this is not an action film so the pacing of Last Night is indeed slower, but just slow enough to absorb its dark atmosphere and meanings.

As if you haven't gathered already, I absolutely adore this movie. Please, seek it out before... well, before the coming apocalypse, of course. (Hey, my life became consumed for two weeks by a game show hosted by Regis Philbin -- anything is possible in this crazy world we live in) As I write this, there are only thirty-seven days remaining in this century. By the time this issue goes online there will be only twenty. Have you made your plans for this December 31 yet? After watching Last Night, I guarantee you will have.

DROOL FACTOR: Callum Keith Rennie, baby! This man, I suppose, is the Brad Pitt of Canadian film, only he's a much better actor. If only he could get the roles that pretty boy Pitt can demand in Hollywood (same goes for the talented Sandra Oh with say, beautiful but talent-lacking Liv Tyler). Many people know him as Stanley Kowalski from Due South. Few know that he was actually the Chris Carter's hand-picked choice for Alex Krycek in The X-Files, but he turned the role down.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Only one graphically violent scene involving David Cronenberg's character.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Sandra is the kind of woman who constantly needs to be with someone. Would this be deemed needy and unstable? Not when the world is ending in six hours! Her car has been sabotaged, she can't get home in time to be with her husband, now she's stuck with this anti-social loser... cut the chick some slack! Her strength shines because Sandra Oh plays her with verve and total tragedy. Sarah Polley, another fine talent (and presently, my favourite actress), plays the minor role of Patrick's sister. Unfortunately, she isn't given much to do. One wonders why she took the role in the first place. It's my theory that there is actually some secret Canadian content law which states that Polley must be in all quality films made here. Either that or our talent pool really is that small!

-- Julie Ng

Last Night is currently available on video across Canada. In the United States, it opened in limited theatrical release on November 5.

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