It’s a simple question with no straight-forward answer, “What would you do?” if it really was your last day on the earth, if you knew it was all going to end, how would you spend your final waking moments?
These Final Hours examines the dystopian world that James (Nathan Phillips) must navigate as the remaining 12 hours on earth for all of mankind comes to a ticking end. A cataclysmic event results in Perth, Australia being the final place on earth to be wiped out. James opting to leave his “other” girl Zoe (Jessica De Gouw) behind to go to an ‘end of the world’ party to basically inebriate himself into oblivion is where we begin. On the way he ends up rescuing young Rose (Angourie Rice) from a pair of shady no-good men and attempts to reunite her with her father. As they continue their journey and as the clock winds down, they pass the brutal and awful extremes of human nature, the result of people without hope or care or compassion. But it’s in this one last generous act to try and help Rose that James manages to seek his redemption and find some meaning to his life.
From the outset this is no Hollywood sugar-coated end of days road trip film. It’s obvious that our hero can not and will not save the day, and the apocalypse will not be stopped. Early into the film we are not spared from the violent and horrific nature of people going crazy, breaking down and turning on each other. Or the morbidly depressing sight of those who’ve taken their lives, and the lives of their loved ones in an attempt to escape the apocalypse before it arrives. Or even the religious folk, vigilantly praying on the side of the road as they await Judgement Day. But even in James’ own words “Why does it matter? We’re all f*cking dead” the futility of everything weighs him and us the audience down. It’s debatable that in a moment of weakness, or a moment of strength depending on your point of view, James opting to save Rose was the beginning of his path to revitalisation. There’s no real clear reason why he does it, he has nothing to gain from it, but as their time edges closer to the end, they both manage to provide a little hope and direction in what remains of each other’s lives.
But it all comes back to that simple question of “What would you do?” and that is what this film pushes hard, it forces us to question exactly how we would react in this situation. Would we collapse into chaos and anarchy? Drinking and taking drugs and partying and having sex right up until we wink out of existence. It seems a little cliché but to be perfectly honest I think a lot of young Australians in particular would definitely fit this bill. James’ girlfriend Vicky (Kathryn Beck) is myopic (and also a bit of an irritating bogan) and convinced that her brother Freddy’s (Daniel Henshall) home-made bomb shelter will be their refuge, thankfully we’re spared too much of their idiocy at the rave party when James begins to realise he’s made a drastic error in picking Vicky over Zoe.
Then there are the people that choose to be with their family and loved ones, reflecting on their time spent together or asking for forgiveness for things they’ve done wrong in their final moments. The need to atone and make amends and somehow be at peace before the end is another theme. Rose just wants to be with her father, this desperate plea although the antithesis of James’ desires is what drives her, and the subtle portrayal of this by Angourie Rice is done maturely and fabulously. There’s no whining teenage brat here, just a girl who is scared and alone and wants consolation. Interestingly it’s James’ mum (Lynette Curran) who strikes a chord a little over mid-way through the film. Her apathy towards the impending doom and James’ arrival on her doorstep carrying a random young girl is a breath of fresh air amongst all the other extremes we witness. Her behaviour towards James is terse and even though we’re never told why, it’s clear that James has done some bad things in his life (prison style tattoos on his hands a possible indication?) that has resulted in a strained relationship, and even the end of the world won’t shake this woman’s principles.
The film is a little lacking in dialogue and the limited time span of the film and short running time we’re given leaves the character growth almost solely in Phillips’ hands but that is an understandable trade off that director-screenwriter Zak Hilditch has made in favour of promoting the themes. What the film lacks in dialogue though is made up for in breathtaking cinematography by Bonnie Elliot and atmospheric music by Cornel Wilczek and Alex Akers. From the hand-held shaky cam during the “action” sequences to the white line fever as we stare at the road or the trees whizzing past us whilst James frantically keeps driving in the hopes of finding Rose’s father. It visually and aurally sets the mood and tone of the film. It’s tense and filled with suspense or moody, ambient and ethereal when we need it to be in the right places and at the right times.
These Final Hours does a commendable job of making you walk out of the cinema asking those tough questions. It’s a gut-wrenching take on the ‘end of the world’, with dystopian elements but ultimately it’s a story of redemption
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Running Time: 87 minutes
These Final Hours is released through Roadshow Films and released nationally on 31 July 2014
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