At the Movies with Gus Mollasis
What’s better than watching Eric Roberts capture the magic on the big screen? Well, that’s easy - watching him portray two parts in MY LAST BEST FRIEND, a film that is one part mystery, one part suspense, and one part character study. Roberts seamlessly plays two identical characters- both named Walter Stoyanov. This intriguing tale is set during the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19, as the virus is introduced to the streets and people of New York City. The two men at the center of the story are as close as brothers- and theirs is a relationship built on genuine care and concern and one big secret. As one of them contracts the growing virus known as Covid-19– the other tends to him during these trying times. Eric Roberts is sublime in both parts. Showing both a sensitive side and one that is sinister –and capable of hiding many things in broad daylight- like his real name and the secrets from a dark past.
It’s not surprising that the man nominated for a Golden Globe for his acclaimed role as Paul Snider in Bob Fosse's Star 80, and the man who appeared in the iconic The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) could pull off the task. In recent years, fans will know him for his work in the legal drama Suits (2014–2019), and the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones (2022). The film also stars Carol Alt as Sarah Rennard, a TV Legal host and Rico Simonini as John McCallany, an FBI Special Agent. Both are quite good as they try to solve this murder mystery set during the outbreak of a pandemic and in the backdrop of New York City.
Writer and Director Filippo M. Prandi captures a mood, an eeriness and sadness if you will, that embraces and smothers a city that is never supposed to sleep, a city that the protagonist Walter claims is his city and one that he now barely recognizes. Brandi’s attention to detail sets New York in an original and wounded light as we watch two men named Stoyanov having their lives and city getting turned upside down. My Last Best Friend, sadly, is not the type of film that today’s Hollywood makes – a film for adults, about real people with real flaws, the type of films that were plentiful in the 1960’s and 1970’s. There are no big special effects here, but the acting is special as is the opening title slide, where we get introduced to the place called New York where the story takes place.
Why does this film work? Strangely or not so strangely it’s because of the chemistry between the same two actors. Yes, two Walters. Played by the same guy and while I know that may sound unusual, their chemistry reminded me of the one shared by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight who chiseled their ways into filmgoers' hearts with their poignant portrayals of two best friends in Midnight Cowboy –respectively playing Ratso Rizzo and Joe Buck. In the end, we cared about both those characters – and the two Oscar winning actors pulled it off.
Here, Eric Roberts does most of the heavy lifting by himself, playing two characters named Walter and accomplishing the same feat with great aplomb. And we care for them both and remember them both long after the closing credits roll.
What’s better than watching Eric Roberts on the big screen?
Watching him play different two parts of course in the same film.
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