4:44 Last Day on Earth

Every once in a while a film like this gets something from me that even I can't quantify in any significant way. Put this on the embarrassing pile with I Melt with You, Striking Distance, and Good Will Hunting. Yeah, no, you should be embarrassed by that one.

"if you knew it was your last day on earth, would you get high?" "eh, depends if the alternative is arguing with my dumb bitch girlfriend and (literally) watching paint dry."

A much simpler focus than the norm for disaster flicks. It rings true, and I like it for that.

I felt like I was going to die when this movie finished. At least the similar 1998's Last Night had some humour to alleviate the pre-apocalypse nervousness. Felt very biographical and similar to my own life, which also consists of just casually chilling out whilst almost turning inside out due to existential dread. Dafoe does well with his ever-changing emotion and reactions to the imminent doom, making most of the scenes work (most). Montage towards the end was amazing ... and terrible.

Unlike most other disaster flicks, this is understated and intimate, which is a nice change of pace. I also really like Willem Dafoe and his incredibly weird face. Why is this review rhyming? Anyway, even though some of the philosophy is kind of blah, the last half hour is evocative and features a number of memorable images. An unusual movie, which is probably why I had such a positive reaction to it in spite of its problems. My first Abel Ferrara flick.

Does a lot with the contrast between the constant touching (try and count the hugs, which are lingered upon whenever two characters interact) with the equally constant but painfully detached video chatting.

Ferrara fumbles yet again, but it's more interesting than his last few efforts, even if to doesn't begin to approach the greatness of some of his 90's films.

Had high hopes for this flick as soon as it came on my radar, but unfortunately they fell flat. There is just so many things that happen to annoy the viewer. It is well filmed for a small film, but really not utilized enough.

Ferrara strips the 'Apocalypse Film' down to its bare essentials, reducing human activity to its most primordial: fucking, creating, and communicating. Approaching the end of existence on a microcosmic level results in a palpably claustrophobic feeling that pervades a narrative that is, oddly, as uplifting as it is fatalistic. Is Love truly the only thing that matters on this planet? Maybe. It's not a new conceit, but Ferrara's singular brand of 'gritty existentialism' makes it a memorable one.

Weak characters, especially the girlfriend, and too great a resemblance to an improv exercise, mar this rather aimless, if thankfully brief, exploration of collective mortality.

Don't get how this is disliked and people will lap at the teet of that Von Trier drivel Melancholia. A good look at the separation of relationships in the modern world. Dafoe was amazing as usual

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

Poignantly mundane-- the Skype talks feel so real --, 4:44 draws from ordinary worldwide footage and philosophy to create the typical hangout intense narrative -- the camera moves horizontally all the time and seems suffocating -- in an end-of-the-world scenario -- noise from the streets/multiple screens, close-ups of sex/fights, a character still struggling with addiction, a sense of despair brought by the wind, an artist believing in her art. When the end is near, all you need is a touch.

Garbage, which is unfortunate because there have been a few good end of the world films lately (Melancholia, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) and I was hoping this would be one of them. It's not.

Decent. Nicely acted, but ultimately boring as hell.

"It's only natural that Abel Ferrara's vision of the end of the world should take corporeal form as a quasi-autobiographical hangout movie." - Jaime N. Christley

On what would you spend your last day? Sex 'n' Skype, of course!

There's something distracting about the Skype calls that take away from the more philosophical aspects. Even if they do tie into the themes of connecting with others while also being distanced from them, they don't really work that well. Also it's kind of lacking flare. NEEDS MORE FLARE!

This is more of a look at how the two main characters do when they know the world is going to end. They order Chinese delivery, which is oddly available even though earning a living is no longer a concern. And then they go through all kinds of bizarre rituals, and we really do miss the opportunity to explore this concept on a wider scale, involving characters to whom we could somehow relate in some small way!

Very uneven (Shanyn Leigh is pretty awful, for one thing), but some parts are really nice, and there's something endearing about the film's lugubrious earnestness, even if a lot of the time it feels like it would have been better as a stage play and, frankly, i could do without the Skype conversations. Still, faint praise as it may be coming from me, i think this is just as good if not better than Melancholia, and Ferrara is every bit the brave, iconoclastic filmmaker Von Trier wishes he was.

Another end-of-the-world film, focusing on a NYC couple (Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh) who love, fight, and wait for the inevitable. It has effective moments of character and atmosphere, and Dafoe is as strong as ever. But it takes a number of pretentious detours (environmentalism, Buddhist mysticism) and is burdened with uneven writing, cheap special effects, a glut of stock footage and Leigh's poor performance (and her character isn't much to begin with). Mostly for Dafore or Abel Ferrara fans.

The ozone layer again? Couldn't they have just gotten MacLeod to build a giant planetary shield? At least Willem Dafoe gets to have make-up sex and end of the world sex at the same time.

I appreciated certain elements: the use of found footage to underline the idea that the last day is a lot like other days, the visual ruminating on isolation versus community, and Dafoe's chiseled face. However, the film limps along, has little in the way of emotional resonance, and left me wondering for most of its run time whether their last day on earth would be a result of death by boredom rather than the dramatic scientific cause given in the script.

Admirably understated and ironic 'end-of-the-world' film from Ferrara, just not my thing. "Al Gore was right!" Haha.