An attractive and game cast helps elevate The Last Letter, a passably intriguing psychological thriller that seeks to fill a certain untapped African-American genre void.
The surface-level drama of The Last Letter is all too familiar. Newlyweds Catherine (Sharon Leal) and Michael Wright (Omari Hardwick) face the challenge of an in-law — in this case Michael’s stern mother, Lorraine (Lynn Whitfield) — who doesn’t approve of their union and isn’t afraid to let people know. This contributes to some tension and stress, as does Catherine’s desire to immediately start a family.
The additional rub, however, is that Catherine has harbored a secret — a crippling sleep disorder that puts her in situations she doesn’t remember, and blurs nightmare and reality. When she and Michael have sex during one of these blackout bouts, Catherine ends up getting pregnant. Then, her foster brother George (Gary Dourdan), with whom Catherine is still close, turns up, and along with him links to a dark and troubling incident from her past.
Writer-director Paul D. Hannah (Consinsual, The Marriage Chronicles) doesn’t necessarily have a handle on artful dialogue or slowly massaged mystery, but he knows how to effectively pull the levers of reaction, both sympathetic and more jangly. He’s abetted by some solid work from cinematographer Keith Smith and editors Willy Allen and Lisa Neidhardt, but mostly helped out by the cast.
Leal, who came to acclaim on the small screen with Boston Public and then had a little bit of a career pop with Dreamgirls, has otherwise remained achingly underutilized. The Last Letter isn’t high art, but it at least offers her a chance to play shades and degrees of withholding. She and Hardwick have a good rapport, and the rest of the film’s actors — including Richard T. Jones, Tatyana Ali, Rocsi Diaz and Bill Cobbs — capably breathe life into functional but well structured roles.
Housed in a regular, clear plastic Amaray case with a two-sided color cover, The Last Letter comes to DVD presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track and optional close-captioning for the hearing impaired. Colors are fairly steady and consistent, and there are no issues with edge enhancement, but there is a bit of grain here and there. Apart from the standard-issue chapter stops, there is unfortunately no supplemental material contained herein. To purchase the DVD via Half, click here. Or if brick and mortar retail and/or digital download are your thing, by all means, have at those options. C+ (Movie) C (Disc)
