Fast Facts About Last Chance Harvey
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson Star as a Mismatched Couple
Jan 12, 2009 Leslie C. Halpern
Aging New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is running out of chances: Younger musicians want his job as a jingle writer at an advertising agency; his daughter (Liane Balaban) has formed a close relationship to her new stepfather; and his ex-wife (Kathy Baker) is happily remarried, while he remains alone.
The Story of Last Chance Harvey
While visiting London to attend his daughter’s wedding every loose thread in his life becomes completely unraveled. During this trip, he meets Kate Walker (Emma Thompson), a considerably younger British woman who finds herself in somewhat similar circumstances.
Bored with the men she meets and resigned to living without love, she devotes herself entirely to her job at the Office of National Statistics and caring for her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins). Although their initial meeting can hardly be considered romantic, they somehow manage to forge a new relationship despite differences in age, culture, backgrounds, and height.
The Cast of Last Chance Harvey
Hoffman and Thompson first worked together in the movie Stranger Than Fiction, in which he played a professor and she played a novelist.
Hoffman won an Academy Award for his role as a man with autism in the drama Rain Man and Thompson won an Academy Award as the screenwriter for the historical romance Sense and Sensibility, in which she also played the role of Elinor Dashwood.
British veteran actress Eileen Aktins portrays Kate’s mother, and was selected for the role because of her talent as well as the fact that she actually resembles Emma Thompson.
James Brolin, known for his devastating good looks and decades on American network television, was cast as the intimidating new husband of Harvey’s ex-wife.
The Crew of Last Chance Harvey
Last Chance Harvey is written and directed by Joel Hopkins, whose first full-length feature film Jump Tomorrow (which he also wrote and directed) won the 2002 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer, in addition to several other awards at film festivals around the world.
Producer Tim Perell took the script for Last Chance Harvey to Robert Kessel of the newly formed Overture Films. Coincidentally, Kessel had served on the jury when Hopkins’s short film Jorge (on which Jump Tomorrow is based) won the grand prize at a film festival.
The Filming Locations in Last Chance Harvey
Harvey and Kate walk and talk a lot in the film, providing an insider’s perspective showcasing London. Hopkins, who like Thompson grew up in England, wanted to provide a fresher, more elegant look at the city as if an American were viewing it for the first time.
The couple wanders from the courtyard of the 16th century palace Somerset House in the morning to the Thames by late afternoon. Other shots include The Southbank Center, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and construction sites representing a changing, international city.
- Last Chance Harvey
- Starring Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Liane Balaban, James Brolin, Kathy Baker
- Director: Joel Hopkins
- Run Time: 92 minutes
- Rating: PG-13 Brief strong language
For a copy of the screenplay for Last Chance Harvey, visit Overture Films.
Last Chance Harvey Stars Hoffman, Thompson
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