"The Last Ride" is a sluggish, bleak take on the Williams legend
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| Henry Thomas and Jesse James |
There's no doubting that country music singer Hank Williams was a legend, though the film inspired by his final hours, the somber tale "The Last Ride," is far from memorable except for a strong turn from "E.T.'s" Henry Thomas. The film's story tells about a famous 1950's country music singer (Thomas) who hires a 19-year old (Jesse James) to drive him from Tennessee to Ohio and West Virginia for a couple of New Year's Eve shows. Struggling with his personal demons, the film tells about the mysterious final hours and their drive through the Appalachian country side. Slow-moving, odd but occasionally affecting, "The Last Ride" is an example of a film that would've worked far better in more skilled hands. Directed and produced by "Designing Women" creator Harry Thomason and filmed in Arkansas, "The Last Ride" should've been a powerful statement on the effects of fame and fortune, but ends up a stagnant, misguided tale. It's also odd the filmmakers chose to change the names, when it's obvious the film is closely based on Williams' final hours and his trek across several states with a young man named Charles Carr in a powder-blue Cadillac (nicely used here). Because of these changes, "The Last Ride" doesn't shed much light into the person of Hank Williams and tells us what we've known for many years (that he struggled considerably with substance abuse). Thomas is solid as the Williams-based character, and it's nice to see him tackle what seems to be a foolproof role, and he makes the best use of a script that falters to resonate. "The Last Ride" is best for Williams' fan base, though they might be baffled that they just didn't use his name in the film. Williams was such an indelible performer that it makes "The Last Ride" a disappointment on many levels for not capturing that.
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