The Last of Sheila (1973)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Does anybody know the title of the chanson in the café-scene with R. Welsh at the table, lyrics are going like "chevalier, merci, pour l'amour ..." Thanks, friends, I love this movie and have seen it about 20 times by know. Its one of my absolutely favorites.

If you begin watching this you'll be excused for thinking that it is a light piece of 70's fluff. But if you hang in to the end, and pay close attention along the way, you will come to realize that it is so much more. This fluffy little Bonn Bonn of a film becomes quite the riddle; as well as a commentary on Hollywood cynicism and the inevitability of rising to one's level of one's own incompetence. The closing shot says it all. There is also some heavy hitting in the acting category from Richard Benjamin, Diane Cannon, and best of all, the never failing James Mason. I, at first, wondered what an actor of James Mason caliber was even doing a film like this. Money? Sure. Everyone needs money. Oh, but no, he's actually necessary for this story. Richard Benjamin plays a complex character in an understated way that manages to stay within the perimeter of a tricky kind of film. Diane Cannon steals every scene without trying. A lot of talent here, a GREAT screenplay, and a surprise ending that will leave you equally bewildered and surprised.Thanks to TCM we get to revisit these films or find them for the first time. Some age well. Some not so much. A good mystery will never let you down and this is a good mystery. And then below the mystery is another layer that the film has been commenting on since its first frame that just comes down like a sledge hammer at the end. I think it would be fair to say that this film was remade later as, and just as effectively as, "The Player" with Tim Robbins. "The Last of Sheila" is every bit as good with some interesting retro 70's sociology such as; being a "homosexual" is the same as being from Mars. There's a lot here to enjoy. You won't be disappointed.

Complex or simple depending on your skill as a puzzle solver this is a top grade thriller either way.Featuring a dynamite cast, beautiful settings and blessed with something that is rarer than you would think, a clever script, this grabs you right from the first shot and teases you along until the exciting conclusion. The entire group of actors each get a spotlight moment or two but a few do stand out. Dyan Cannon is brassy, frisky and funny. The wonderful Joan Hackett is touching as the troubled Lee and James Mason is cool and classy as a rather disreputable character. Actually with the exception of Joan Hackett's Lee all the characters are rather loathsome people with a few redeeming qualities, some very few.Herbert Ross keeps the whole film moving at a good pace but what really puts this over is the skill of the actors and the strong script by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim. Recommended.

No need to recap the plot. Beneath all the glitz, snappy one-liners, and Hollywood insider jokes lurks a turgidly told whodunit that only a Rosetta Stone could untangle. Moreover, whoever edited that hodgepodge of flashbacks should take a refresher course in Charlie Chan, guaranteeing that the several clever clue ideas finally get proper treatment. In fact the entire 2-hour script could use a slimming-down. At the same time, the many narrative defects suggest an OJT effort by actor Perkins and composer Sondheim minus professional supervision. Either that or director Ross was doing his own OJT.The whodunit may be impossible, but the movie still has fun parts. The cast is clearly amused with the suggestive characters and provocative one-liners. Also, the Riviera setting amounts to real candy for the eye, along with many bikinis for the guys. On a more poignant note is Joan Hackett who here, as elsewhere, projects an effortless depth perfectly suited to her part-- what a loss that she died so young. Anyway, the mystery part may flounder, but the peek into colorful show-biz types succeeds. My advice -- go with the People magazine parts and let Sherlock Holmes sort out the rest.