Despite a title that inspires visions of huge herds of water buffalo traversing the African savannah, The Last Great Wilderness is anything but a nature documentary. And the potential misdirection provided by the title is only the beginning of the surprises in this quirky comedy/ drama from director/ co-writer David Mackenzie.
Beginning as a road movie – with vengeful cuckold Charlie (Mackenzie’s brother, Alastair, who also co-wrote) saddled with professed gigolo-on-the-run Vicente (Jonathan Phillips) as he drives through Scotland – the movie becomes something of a supernatural mystery, an eccentric character-based comedy, and even a violent thriller, before concluding as a life-affirming endorsement of non-traditional psychotherapy. Seriously. And all this is in 95-minutes.
The film’s success begins with its smart, unpredictable script. The love-hate (or perhaps more appropriately, toleration-hate) relationship between Charlie and Vicente binds together the diverse narrative. Charlie, all tense and circumspect, is headed to the Isle of Skye, intent upon avenging the seduction of his wife by a pop music star. The gangly, obnoxiously outgoing Vicente is on the other side of the revenge dynamic, as he claims to be a gigolo being pursued by thugs who aim to make him pay for providing his services to the wife of a rich and powerful man. Charlie is not keen about having Vicente along for the ride, but an unlikely bond develops between them, particularly after Charlie rescues Vicente from potential doom at the hands of the aforementioned thugs.
The road movie part of the proceedings grinds to a halt when an empty fuel tank leaves the pair stranded amidst the Scottish wilderness. The only habitation in sight is an isolated inn, where Charlie and Vicente encounter an odd assortment of characters and are swept up by a bizarre series of events (yes, even more bizarre than a gigolo being pursued by thugs and a jealous husband planning to burn down his competitor’s house). The odd characters include a desperately anti-social young woman, a pedophile, a snarly agoraphobic, a pedophile, a dying old woman, and their good natured but somewhat mysterious host. What they’re doing here isn’t clear, although Charlie becomes increasingly concerned as he sees them carry out odd rituals out in the countryside.
All is not as it seems in The Last Great Wilderness, but this isn’t an M. Night Shyamalan shock-fest. Instead, we gradually figure out what’s going on, and learn that this eccentric, circuitous story is indeed leading somewhere meaningful. Charlie is just as confused as we are, but as things start to become clear – aided ever so slightly by his host reminding Charlie that the mystery of the human heart is the last great wilderness – all the weird events start to fit together. There’s a method to the madness of this place, and Charlie – who was so desperately lost while on his journey of revenge – is a lucky man to have stumbled upon it.
The Mackenzies and co-screenwriter Michael Tait have done a fabulous job of piecing together what initially seems like wacky for wacky’s sake and turning it into a cohesive whole. The cast – especially Phillips, Alastair Mackenzie and Victoria Smurfit – makes good use of the material, and David Mackenzie ties it all together well.
This is dark comedy, regularly interrupted by major angst, and punctuated by one particularly disturbing scene. More importantly, this is a movie that has something to say, and it does this in a provocative and engaging way.
