Last Resort (2000)

94% of critics liked it
(70 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(1,194 ratings)

Last Resort opens as Tanya (Dina Korzun), a young Russian traveling to England with her son Artiom (Artiom Strelnikov), is questioned at a British airport's passport control. Tanya tells the official she is visiting England on a vacation, but then switches her story and says that her English fiancé… More Last Resort opens as Tanya (Dina Korzun), a young Russian traveling to England with her son Artiom (Artiom Strelnikov), is questioned at a British airport's passport control. Tanya tells the official she is visiting England on a vacation, but then switches her story and says that her English fiancé is meeting her, and finally, out of desperation, asks for political asylum. She and Artiom are duly packed off to an immigrants' center in a grim coastal town, where they are given a small apartment and informed that their application for asylum will take over a year to process. After Tanya's fiancé dumps her over the phone, she gradually befriends Alfie (Paddy Considine), who runs an arcade. Alfie wins the trust of Tanya and her street-smart son, and soon Tanya must decide how far she wants to carry her relationship with this new friend. Last Resort was screened at the 2000 Edinburgh International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 13 min.
Directed By: Pawel Pawlikowski, Paul Pavlikovsky
Written By: Pawel Pawlikowski, Paul Pawlikowski
Genres: Drama, Romance

In Theaters: Feb 23, 2001 Limited
Studio: Shooting Gallery Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
One of the few films to get at the ways in which single mothers and their sons alternate being authority figures.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
Dramatically low-key, Last Resort is beautifully acted, with striking realism.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Gives grim and gritty a good name.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Moving and eerily beautiful.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Pawlikowski ... renders the events of Last Resort so unsentimentally that they unfold with the authenticity of an affecting documentary.
Jan Stuart, Newsday
Fasten your seat belt, and don't blink for a second.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The intimate, unadorned performances add a realistic immediacy to entire piece.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Pawlikowski and his cast have been honoured for this film at festivals across the continent, the greatest award for them would be for you to watch and think.
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff
A tragic but quite educational tour of the Western countries' refugee process.
Merle Bertrand, Film Threat
An unabashed, if subdued ode to star-crossed lovers everywhere.
John Venable, Supercala.com
What was missing for me was a story that was engaging or interesting.
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
This quiet film gains its power from small moments and unforced, convincing performances.
Ted Murphy, Baseline.Hollywood.com
"Last Resort" does not have the feel of a fictional piece, but instead appears to be unfolding as the events occur.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

I can?t get enough of Paddy Considine, this tragic love story is one of a very topical theme. I?m sure it won?t be to everyone?s taste, because of the politics of the theme and it?s quite a slow moving plot, but performance wise all three main characters were supurb.