Last Chance Harvey

STAR QUALITY CAN paper over cracks in a creaky screenplay, but cannot go the distance to salvage a movie, as this contrived romantic comedy demonstrates.

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson transcend their material as characters introduced separately and kept apart until writer- irector Joel Hopkins can no longer resist bringing them together. By then we know that they have much in common: loneliness, regrets, a sense of emptiness.

Harvey Shine (Hoffman) is a divorced, professionally dissatisfied New York jingles composer one chance away from losing his job, which heightens his anxiety when he goes to London for the wedding of his daughter. Kate Walker (Thompson) has the frustrating task of trying to collect statistical data from passengers rushing through Heathrow, along with taking incessant phone calls from her demanding mother (Eileen Atkins).

As Hopkins sets up the protagonists, he sets in motion the movie’s recurring theme of how difficult communication can be in the modern world. The woman next to Harvey on his transatlantic flight prefers to sleep rather than talk. He’s so out of touch with his daughter that she has become much closer to her stepfather (James Brolin).

Kate’s colleague (Bronagh Gallagher) arranges a blind date for her, but it’s marked with stiff exchanges and social awkwardness. When Kate and Harvey first meet at the airport, he’s too tired to respond to her survey.

It goes without saying that they will meet again, going on a touristy journey through London, mostly along South Bank cultural venues but somehow bypassing the London Eye, which has replaced red telephone kiosks as cinema’s clichéd establishing image of the city.

The physical contrast between the two actors is striking in shots of them walking together – Thompson towering over Hoffman. To Hoffman’s credit, throughout his career he’s never tried to hide his height, unlike other movie stars of smaller stature.

The emotional chemistry between them is what counts, and both actors radiate charm and warmth as they navigate the slender screenplay’s sentimental and obvious route.

Directed by Joel Hopkins. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, James Brolin, Eileen Atkins, Richard Schiff 12A cert, gen release, 92 min