Richard Jenkins stars in Andrew Cohn's serio-comedy about the politics of class, identity and race, 'The Last Shift.' Read the review: Sundance
The Last Shift
Stanley is one of those characters in movies about the American underclass who comes under the reductive general header of "sad-sack loser," yet he's distinguished by a pride in his work and refusal to bemoan his dead-end life that gives him a touching resilience. He even seems impervious to the thinly veiled mockery of football jocks who pick up sandwiches from his drive-through window.
While the setup seems to point to the two polar opposites finding a mutually respectful, even friendly, middle-ground that opens both their eyes to other realities, Cohn has subtler, less predictable ideas in mind. To some extent Stanley and Jevon do break the ice, but issues of racial bias, class and misguided assumptions about privilege all factor into the way the writer-director subverts expectations.
McGhie is terrific as a young man whose intelligence works against him as much as for him; the arc of his character — from deadpan resignation through anger to a more hopeful evolution in an ending that declines tidy outcomes — is expertly played. Jenkins creates another in this superb actor's gallery of fine-grained character portraits, hobbling around with two bum knees and without complaint until the determined optimism is wiped from Stanley's hangdog face.
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