Rent One Last Dance (2005)

Assasin's own story - One Last Dance review by CP Customer

I enjoyed some aspects of this film; the humorous elements created by the character Ko, (Joseph Quek), the basic premise of the hired killer tracking down his victims one by one, and the contrasting character of 'T' played by Francis Ng; half cool killer, half shy lover. But the story was told at such a pace that - partly owing to the sub titles - it became difficult to follow, particularly at the end, when supposedly it was all brought together.

Nearly a Great Film. So close..... - One Last Dance review by Strovey

One Last Dance is filmed in Singapore with a mainly Chinese cast by a Brazilian director who is known for not following the conventions of cinematic story-telling timelines. Think Pulp Fiction, if you were confused by that One Last Dance may freak you out.

The story, no matter how it is dressed up, is essentially a simple kidnapping gone wrong thriller. T, played by the best actor in the film by a country mile, Francis Ng, get the contracts by lai see [I think] packets with numbers on them, I think they are gifts given by the Chinese, but I am talking from full-on ignorance here, and goes about completing the contracts. Makowski throws a spanner into the workings by playing around with the timeline and your expectation [depending on your film-watching experience].

The film tonally is not tuned for ‘western’ [for want of a better expression] ears, with comedic moments and over-the-top acting, particularly from Joseph Quek as Ko, rammed into quite serious scenes and events. To the point of cartoonish sound effects at one stage. It can be a strange brew to get used to but if you can it makes the viewing easier.

To try and distract from the simple tale the director seems to have experimented with some spiffy editing techniques and ideas, some work, others are more clunky and even annoying. In particular, the ‘instant photos’ sequence outlining Ko’s night out starts off as fun and an attempt at something different, but it goes on too long and outstays its welcome.

The film is also bogged down with truly awful cheap CGI blood splatters from the killings. They would look out of place in a poor video game and detract from the viewing. Surely squibs and blood-packs are not that expensive?

There is little I can tell you about the plot without spoiling the story, but it is fair to say you had better pay attention throughout the running time as the story does not resolve itself until near the end, and even if you have not grasped it, scenes get played out again to jog your memory. This technique is not even new to the director let alone crime or any other type of film. There is little I can reveal other than the timeline is out of sync until near the end and it is understandable that some watching the film might end up frustrated.

Francis Ng is great as the hitman, a cliché that you have seen before in hundreds of films, too cool and too well-known to actually be a hitman, but he carries off what could be a blancmange role. Consequently, the film is lifted higher than you could feel it deserves.

The other main character, Ko played by Joseph Quek, his performance is more of a curate's egg, will, depending on your tolerance and mood when watching, amuse you or really annoy you. I fell between the two stools on my watching.

One Last Dance seemed to be made in the style of Asian cinema but also trying to appeal to a more western audience, hence Harvey Keitel pops up for a couple of scenes, he might have been on holiday and popped over to watch filming for all I could tell, and it is here One Last Dance fails, being neither fish nor fowl.

This is a shame because just under the surface there is a good film, familiar enough to drag in the casual viewer and experimental and quirky enough to pique the interest of the more serious film fan. Unfortunately, the casual viewer will undoubtedly end up bored and confused and the serious film fan could end up disappointed and frustrated.

As far as I can tell Max Makowski seems to have given up his fledging directing/writing career as this film was his last entry in IMDB, I cannot find any reference to him on the all-knowing Internet beyond about 2009. Is he dead, divorced or beheaded? Whichever it is he seems to have stopped making movies which is a shame, if he had carried on in the same vein you feel he would have produced genuinely interesting and compelling films.