It might not sound like a scenario ripe with comedic potential but Dan Rosen’s script dollops on generous portions of dark humor.
Imagine you’re a time-traveler. It’s 1909 and you’re in Austria. You meet a young art student named Adolf in a pub. He hasn’t done anything wrong yet. But you know he will. Do you kill him and save millions of lives? Or do you let him live? This is the question the five main characters of The Last Supper, a 1995 film directed by Stacy Title, ask themselves after a strange dinner with Zack (Bill Paxton.)
Zack gives Pete (Ron Eldard) a ride home after his car dies on the road. Pete’s housemates invite Zack in for dinner. The housemates have a standing tradition of inviting a guest every Sunday for dinner and discussions. Their expected guest for this evening didn’t make it, so they have an extra seat at the table.
After everyone exchanges pleasantries, Zack exclaims that Hitler had the right idea and says that there’s no proof that he killed six million Jews in the Holocaust. The five housemates — all liberals — challenge Zack’s claims with facts. But Zack insults liberals as people who protest but never actually do anything about the causes in which they claim to believe. To prove his point, he pulls out a knife and holds it the throat of Marc (Jonathan Penner,) who happens to be Jewish. One thing leads to another and Zack ends up dead. Murdered by the housemates. Their reaction? They bury him in the backyard and try to pretend like nothing happened.
That is, until Luke (Courtney B. Vance) revisits the time-traveler scenario. He asks the others to ponder the idea that they may actually have done some good by killing Zack. What if they invited more guests to their house who have views they deem repugnant? If the housemates can’t change their guests’ minds after a polite discussion, the five will offer them a glass of wine laced with arsenic. So, that’s what they do, until the local sheriff (Nora Dunn) starts poking around.
It might not sound like a scenario ripe with comedic potential but Dan Rosen’s script dollops on generous portions of dark humor. The subject matter is particularly timely even though the film is 25 years old. And, while it might sound like a left-leaning wet dream, there’s a twist that I won’t spoil that puts everything into proper perspective.
While there are some wildly melodramatic scenes as the individual members struggle with the group’s collective actions, the movie does manage to stay on course and merit a recommendation. The Last Supper is a thought-provoking and highly entertaining movie that’s perfect to watch with friends. Just don’t drink any wine.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
