monoceros blogsIt's never too late for anything, people say. As I told a friend - "a rare connection with another person or exhilarating exploration late in life? Take your pick."
Synopsis -
New Yorker Harvey Shine is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter’s wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting—or else. Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot. Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate, a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother, is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion. The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.
"Last Chance Harvey" reminds me of "Before Sunrise" but it's an encounter that takes place for the pair a little later in life. Does it matter? The encounter seems to be just as rare and beautiful.
And then there's exploration. Via balloons. Without leaving the comfort of your house. Because if you're 78, why should you give that up? Carl Fredricksen is finally fulfilling the promise he made his wife when they were very young - to travel to South America. But she probably didn't expect him to do it balloon-style.
The Shining, by Badly Drawn Boy (as heard in the trailer)
Tonight We Fly, by The Divine Comedy