Every Last Night

Author(s): CJ (CA)
Every Last Night

Directed by Shona Auerbach
Written by Naomi Foner
Music by Mychael Danna
Original Song: "Towards Your Arms" by Vienna Teng

Kate Mara as Jillian Cowry
Jensen Ackles as Danny McClellan
Christian Coulson as Scott McClellan
Genevieve Bujold as Annie McClellan
Ian Holm as Daniel McClellan

Tagline: What brought them together tore them apart.

Synopsis: Mechanic Danny McClellan (Ackles) is an ex-collegiate athlete brought down by an early injury who now supports his aging parents in their Massachusetts home. When Danny’s younger brother Scott (Coulson) comes home from college and brings his girlfriend Jillian (Mara) along to meet the family, she is accepted by the McClellans warmly. As their visit wears on, however, Danny begins to feel that he is falling in love with Jillian. One late night, Danny and Jillian share a kiss, but separately resolve to never speak of it.

The next afternoon, Scott proposes marriage to Jillian and she accepts. Months pass and Scott and Jillian’s wedding draws closer, as the interactions between Jillian and Danny grow more tenuous. Two weeks before the ceremony, Danny finally confronts Jillian with his feelings- that he is deeply in love with her. They share an impassioned night together, but afterwards Jillian tells Danny that she wants to move to California with Scott when they get married, because she loves Danny and fears driving a wedge between the close-knit family. Similarly, Danny is wracked with guilt at betraying his brother, as well as anguish at the thought of losing Jillian.

Danny flees to his garage, and is surprised when Scott comes to seek him out. Scott, unaware that the connection between his brother and his fiancée has evolved past platonic, asks Danny to be his best man. Danny, promising himself that this marks the end of his feelings for Jillian, accepts and wishes Scott well. Following a loud explosion, all goes black. Danny wakes up in a hospital bed, his parents at his side and Jillian nowhere to be found.

Danny’s parents tell him that there was an accident in the garage, and that he was injured. He has been in a coma for the past two weeks, making today the date planned for Jillian and Scott’s wedding. Danny demands to know his brother’s whereabouts, and his parents reveal that Scott, after lying comatose for three days, died without waking. After the funeral, Jillian left Massachusetts to return to California, and Danny's mother, Annie, knowingly tells him to let her do what she needs to.

That winter, when after a long period of recovery Danny has been allowed to leave the hospital, he visits Scott's grave, and expresses regret about keeping the truth from him. He leaves a letter from Jillian on Scott's grave, and the film closes with Jillian's voiceover reading its contents.

What the press says:

‘Every Last Night’ is no feel-good film. It is a story of fallible people who give into impulse as well as make thought-out decisions. There are no heroes- the characters left in the best light are the ones granted the least amount of attention, perhaps a commentary on how an individuals flaws become more prevalent the closer we become to them.

As Danny McClellan, Jensen Ackles carries the responsibility of a lead role well, hefting the weight of the drama on his shoulders with an accuracy that develops the predicament of his character into a third protagonist of the film. He is simultaneously drawn between the responsibilities of being the older brother, and a staunch refusal to hurt his younger brother, Scott (deftly if fleetingly played by Christian Coulson), even though he feels a growing passion for Scott’s girlfriend, later fiancée, the glitteringly unattainable Jillian.

Kate Mara ably portrays the difficult role of Jillian, an outsider being drawn into the closeknit McClellan family. Most of Jillian’s exposition is saved for the very last scene of the film, and so the audience knows very little about the woman who causes such discord in the lives of the winningly charming McClellan boys. Mara shows the guarded but delicate emotion in her character during a tender love scene, and once all is said and done at the film’s close, her portrayal is drawn together like a well-spun mystery novel.

‘Every Last Night’ fills itself up with complex themes, and admirably does not get bogged down with their weight in the second act. However, the execution of the film’s story does lean towards heavy-handed. It buzzes with questions and conclusions about the ideas of family, fate, the endurance of love, and most importantly, the fragile condition of hope. ‘Every Last Night’ unwinds its somewhat formulaic (and yet, most decidedly unconventional) plot with an urgency rarely seen in family dramas, placing incredible importance on each fleeting moment, which -for better or for worse-, bodily throws its audience into the thick of the characters’ lives.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Original Screenplay: Naomi Foner
Best Original Score: Mychael Danna
Best Actor: Jensen Ackles
Best Actress: Kate Mara
Best Supporting Actress: Genevieve Bujold