''First Love, Last Rites'' is a 1997 American romantic

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Jesse Peretz Jesse Peretz (born May 19, 1968) is an American film and television director, TV producer and former musician. He first rose to prominence as a bass guitarist and founding member of The Lemonheads, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based band that form ...

and starring

Natasha Gregson Wagner Natasha Gregson Wagner ( Gregson; born September 29, 1970) is an American actress. She is the daughter of film producer Richard Gregson and actress Natalie Wood. She has appeared in films including '' Lost Highway'', '' Two Girls and a Guy,'' ' ...

and Giovanni Ribisi. It is based on the short story of the same name by

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...

and centers on the passionate love affair between a young couple over one Louisiana summer. The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in 1997 and received a limited release on August 7, 1998.

Plot

During a summer in Louisiana, Joey and Sissel are two young lovers fresh out of high school entangled in a consuming love affair. How the couple met is not disclosed, but Joey is originally from Brooklyn and Sissel is a local. In a house on stilts by the river, the couple do little more than talk and have sex, with the occasional interruption by Sissel’s younger brother Adrian. Sissel’s parents are divorced. Her father Henry, a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran, befriends Joey, and the two men look into trapping eels with the aim of selling them to sushi restaurants. Jealousy and communication issues start to creep into Joey and Sissel’s relationship.

Cast

as Sissel * Giovanni Ribisi as Joey * Eli Marienthal as Adrian *

Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in the early films of Hal Hartley as well as his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), ''Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became ...

as Henry *

Jeannetta Arnette Jeannetta Arnette is an American actress. She became known for her television role as Miss Meara on the situation comedy ''Head of the Class''. She has also appeared in numerous films, including 1992's '' Ladybugs'' and 1999's '' Boys Don't Cry'' ...

as Sissel's Mom

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed and performed by Shudder to Think, with singers such as

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

and

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...

providing vocals for many of the tracks. Despite the film's poor reception, the soundtrack received positive reviews.

Release

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to play the festival circuit, including the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

, the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

, and the

International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

, where it won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Direction. It also screened at the 1998

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 40% based on reviews from 10 critics. Criticisms hinged on the film’s narrative and heavy-handed symbolism. ''

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

'' opined, "The lack of a sufficient narrative doesn't help as the two characters become unable to communicate with each other, resulting in a heavily symbolic climax with a pesky rat. After the initial scene is set, ''First Love, Last Rites'' becomes almost painful to watch as it heads toward the inevitable conclusion, but at least it contains lush scenery and convincing atmosphere." Emanuel Levy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote the film "is good at illustrating how initial thrills of freedom and lust gradually turn into confusion, fear and anxiety", and "It’s always a challenge to make an excitingly dramatic film about

ennui In conventional usage, boredom, , or tedium is an emotion characterized by uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations. Although, "There is no universally accepted definition of boredom. But whatever ...

, a task that is only partially achieved by helmer Peretz", but ”In switching the locale of McEwan’s short story from an industrial seaside town in England to the hot Bayou country, Peretz…has also aborted the poignancy, irony and black humor that the original material possessed." Though the story was criticized, the film’s atmosphere and visuals were praised. Stephen Holden wrote of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "Although the geographical shift makes for a film that is steeped in local color (this world of ruddy tattooed fishermen and houses on stilts and crushing humidity is so richly evoked you can almost smell the thick summer air), its main characters seem distinctly out of place." Ethan Alter of '' Film Journal'' complimented Jesse Peretz’ camera work and said he "has designed some very nice shots and his interesting use of color highlights his background in music-videos", but said the plot "bored him to tears" and criticized the lack of chemistry between its two leads.

References

External links

* * * {{Jesse Peretz American romantic drama films 1997 films 1990s English-language films Trimark Pictures films Films based on British short stories 1997 romantic drama films Films set in Louisiana Films shot in Louisiana Films directed by Jesse Peretz 1997 directorial debut films 1997 independent films 1990s American films Films scored by Nathan Larson English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films