While I hate saying a movie is really similar to another…. “Last Chance Harvey” is like “Before Sunrise”….but for an older generation. While “Before Sunrise” was about two people in their twenties falling for one another over the course of a night, “Last Chance Harvey” takes place over a weekend in

London with pretty much the same concept. However, since both films work, it’s a good comparison.

Here’s the synopsis:

New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss (Richard Schiff) that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter¹s (Liane Balaban) wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting -- or else.

Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot.

Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins), is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion.

The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.

I recently attended the press day and got to speak with Dustin and Emma. Both told some good stories about making the movie and since the film had just played at the AFI Festival in Los Angeles, we discussed what that was like. Both interviews came out great.

Finally, if you’d like to read Brian’s review of “Last Chance Harvey”, click here.

Dustin Hoffman

• We talk about the movie playing at the AFI Festival in Hollywood and what his reaction was
• I ask about the locations they chose to use in London – they were not the normal places
• He talks about the script process and how he got involved in the project

Emma Thompson

• I ask about her experience with the AFI Festival – Last Chance Harvey opened the Fest
• We talk about whether or not having the audience knowing the stars of the movie are there affects their reaction to the film
• We talk about her involvement with the creation of the script
• We talk about the locations they used in London