Last Orders

Last Orders is a 2001 British/German drama film written and directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay is based on the 1996 Booker Prize-winning novel of the same title by Graham Swift. The title refers to both a pub landlord's last call and the final wishes of a dying man, in this instance Jack Dodds, an East London butcher who greatly influenced four men over the course of his flawed but decent lifetime. The quartet gathers to scatter Jack's ash... more

Last Orders is a 2001 British/German drama film written and directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay is based on the 1996 Booker Prize-winning novel of the same title by Graham Swift. The title refers to both a pub landlord's last call and the final wishes of a dying man, in this instance Jack Dodds, an East London butcher who greatly influenced four men over the course of his flawed but decent lifetime. The quartet gathers to scatter Jack's ashes in Margate, where he had hoped to retire to a small seaside cottage with his wife Amy, a dream that never was fulfilled. The four are compulsive horse race gambler Ray Johnson, aka Lucky, who fought beside Jack during World War II and has been his best friend since; former boxer Lenny, who is always ready to settle an argument with his fists; undertaker Vic, who acts as a buffer of sorts; and Jack's son Vince, a dealer of used luxury cars, whose relationship with his father never quite recovered when, as a young boy, he learned his real... less