A brilliant example of British filmmaking from director Phil Stubbs – Last Chancers blends comedy, romance and the gangster genre to create a wonderful fusion of feel-good fun.
With dry humour, irony and satire, the film sets and sticks to its own brand of comedy throughout. The protagonist, Flynn (Ellis J. Wells), is down on his luck career wise. He hasn’t done much with his life so far but that’s all about to change – though not in the way he was expecting. After his first date with Jen (Lisa Ronaghan) goes better than hoped, Flynn is looking forward to focusing on something new. But when he finds out his incompetent friend Aiden (Harry Dyer) has named him as a guarantor on a loan from a notorious gangster, things escalate very quickly. Luckily Flynn doesn’t have to put his love life on hold as Jen throws herself into the antics headfirst.
Ellis J. Wells is perfect as Flynn. He is endearing an entertaining, perfectly capturing the character’s awkwardness without overdoing it. I was rooting for him all the way though the film. Harry Dyer is great as Aiden – the cause of most of Flynn’s strive. Dyer captures Aiden’s overconfidence in a wonderful juxtaposition to Wells characterisation of Flynn.
The pair must repay Aiden’s debt to the criminal kingpin known as Poynter in cash or by doing him a favour. A certain bag of money has gone missing and Poynter wants them to find it. Unable to come up with the money, the pair opt to carry out the favour which proves to be more difficult than they’d first thought. Brian Croucher makes a great gangster and embodies all the tropes we know and love.
One thing Last Chancers does very well is knowing which tropes to leave alone and which to bend or develop in order to make the most interesting narrative. Twisting the gangster genre to incorporate a romance storyline is a clever idea that really adds another dimension to the narrative. The play on British stereotypes is an old favourite and keeps a comforting sense of familiarity within the film.
As Flynn and Aiden get themselves in deeper and deeper trouble, Jen comes to the rescue. The relationship between Flynn and Jen is heart-warming and enjoyable, without the sickly sweetness that sometimes overwhelms British rom-coms (move over Hugh Grant!). Ronaghan and Wells have great chemistry, creating a compelling relationship between Jen and Flynn that flows naturally throughout. There are several great perhipheral characters too. Kayla (Emily Carding); a bona fide badass and another gangster by the name of Stoneface (Larry Rew).
Phil Stubbs has created a wonderful tribute to several genres that holds its own against the classics. I enjoyed Last Chancers immensely. Watch now on Amazon Prime!