Last Christmas (film)



Last Christmas is a 2019 romantic comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband, Greg Wise. Based on the song of the same name, and inspired by the music of George Michael, the film stars Emilia Clarke as a disillusioned Christmas store worker who forms a relationship with a mysterious man (Henry Golding) and begins to fall for him; Thompson and Michelle Yeoh also star.

Last Christmas was theatrically released in the United States on 8 November 2019 and in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2019 by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry of Clarke and Golding but criticized the screenplay, clichés, and plot twist, and has grossed $86 million worldwide.

Plot
Katarina "Kate" works a dead end job as an elf at a Christmas shop in Central London, which sells ornaments all year round. She is homeless after being thrown out by her flatmate. While at work she notices a man outside staring upwards. She talks with him, learning that his name is Tom.

After an unsuccessful singing audition, Kate sees Tom again and they go for a walk, where he charms her with his bizarre observations of London. The following morning, she discovers that her failure to lock the shop has led to a break-in. Her boss, who she refers to as "Santa", expresses disappointment in Kate, saying that she has changed from the charismatic and friendly person she used to be.

Isolating herself from her last friend, Kate is forced to return to her parents' home. Yugoslavian immigrants, her mother, Petra, suffers from severe depression and her father, a former lawyer, works as a minicab driver as he can't afford to retrain to practise in the UK. Kate hates her mother, who dotes on her while ignoring Kate's sister Marta, a successful lawyer.

Kate begins spending more time with Tom, who rides a bike and volunteers at a homeless shelter, which she initially critiques. Looking for Tom, who says he keeps his phone in a cupboard and often disappears for days at a time, she begins helping at the shelter in the hope of running into him but finds that the staff have never met him.

While celebrating Marta's promotion, Kate inadvertently outs Marta, who is in a long-term same sex relationship. She then runs into Tom, who takes her back to his apartment. Kate reveals that a year earlier she was seriously ill and had to have a heart transplant. Kate says she feels half dead and questions whether she has the talent to make it as a performer. After opening up to Tom, Kate tries to initiate sex but he declines.

After spending the night with Tom, Kate begins taking small steps to improve her life, taking care of her body, setting up Santa with a Danish man who loves Christmas as much as she does, apologizing to Marta and her girlfriend, and singing Christmas songs to busk for money for the shelter. After a few days she runs into Tom again, but when he shuts down the idea of a relationship she walks away believing he doesn't truly love her.

Nevertheless, Kate continues to try to do good in her daily life. Finally, wanting to make amends to Tom, Kate returns to his apartment only to meet an estate agent who is holding viewings. He reveals that the previous owner was killed in a bicycle accident a year ago and the place has been empty during the probate process. Finding his phone in the cupboard, Kate realizes that Tom was the organ donor whose heart is now inside her, and that all their interactions were hallucinations. Going to a small garden which was Tom's favorite place, Kate encounters him again where he says his heart will always belong to her.

For Christmas, Kate organizes a show utilizing the talents of the people at the shelter and inviting all of her friends, new and old, including her entire family as well as the newly coupled Santa and Danish man. Kate delicately performs a solo of the Wham! song Last Christmas intertwined with flashbacks of her so-called 'encounters' with Tom until revelry ensues when the curtain raises and she is joined by the band of performers. Later, Kate and the family celebrate Christmas together joined by Alba, Marta's girlfriend, for the first time.

The Christmas celebration fades out and a bright light transitions to a summer scene where a visibly healthier Kate is seen writing in her journal in the garden to which Tom introduced her. She is sitting on Tom's memorial bench, with a plaque bearing his name and birth and death years. Smiling and visibly happy, Kate looks up, as Tom always advised.

Cast
In addition, Madison Ingoldsby and Lucy Miller portray the young Kate and Marta, respectively. Andrew Ridgeley, from the duo Wham!, whose song "Last Christmas" is instrumental to the plot, makes a cameo appearance in the audience at the end of the film.

Production
In September 2018, it was reported that Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding would star in a London-set romantic comedy taking place at Christmas. Paul Feig was announced to direct, with Emma Thompson co-writing the screenplay. In October it was announced that Thompson would be starring and that the film would feature the music of the late singer George Michael, including "Last Christmas" and previously unreleased tracks. In November 2018, Michelle Yeoh joined the cast of the film. Theodore Shapiro would compose the film's score.

Filming began on 26 November 2018 through February 2019. Filming locations included West London Film Studios.

On 31 October 2019, Thompson and Wise published a collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas in a book also called Last Christmas. Contributors include Andy Serkis, Caitlin Moran, Olivia Colman and Emily Watson. The profits from the book went to two charities, Crisis and The Refugee Council.

Music
The musical score was composed by Theodore Shapiro. An official soundtrack album was released by Sony Music on CD, 2-disc vinyl, and digital formats on 8 November 2019. The album contains 14 Wham! and solo George Michael hits and 1 previously unreleased recording, a new track originally completed in 2015 titled "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)". The soundtrack album debuted at No.1 on the U.K. Official Soundtrack album chart and No.11 on the Official Albums chart on 15 November 2019. It also entered the Australian Albums Chart at No.7, the Irish Albums Chart where it debuted at No. 32 climbing to No. 26 the following week and No. 55 in the U.S. Billboard 200.

Release
The film was due for release on 15 November 2019 but was moved up a week to 8 November in the United States. The film was released on 15 November 2019 in the United Kingdom.

Box office
, Last Christmas has grossed $33.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $52.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $86.5 million.

In the United States and Canada, Last Christmas was released alongside Doctor Sleep, Midway, and Playing with Fire, and was projected to gross $13–19 million from 3,448 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4.1 million on its first day, including $575,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $11.6 million, finishing fourth behind its fellow newcomers. In its second weekend the film made $6.7 million, finishing fifth. The film made $3 million on its third weekend, finishing ninth and losing 1,043 theaters.

In the United Kingdom it debuted to £2.7 million ($3.4 million), from 612 cinemas, finishing first.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 47% based on 177 reviews, with an average rating of 5.37/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Likable leads, terrific behind-the-scenes talent, and an intriguing musical hook aren't enough to save Last Christmas from its poorly conceived story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3 out of 5 stars.

Variety's Owen Gleiberman gave the film a negative review and wrote: "It's twee, it's precious, it's forced. And it's light on true romance, maybe because the movie itself is a little too in love with itself." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it a misfire "but it earns some warm feelings for its determination not to be like anything else currently in circulation." Alonso Duralde of TheWrap compared the film to a Christmas album, and said it was not as good as Paul Feig's best work "but it fulfills a craving for sticky Christmas pudding".

Charles Bramesco of The A.V. Club called the film "a guilty pleasure" but criticized the predictable plot twist. He praised Clarke for her performance saying "she succeeds in the only real meaningful test of rom-com skill, in that she makes us want her to be happy."

David Fear of Rolling Stone described the film as "Incredibly, shockingly, monumentally bad. The kind of bad that falls somewhere between finding a lump of coal in your stocking and discovering one painfully lodged in your rectum".