Last Night (2010) Film Review

Freedom in a marriage is not a line drawn in sand, but a landscape constantly shaped by trust and compromise. Some claim infidelity is what shatters a union; others believe it is merely the symptom of a fracture already there. "Last Night" dwells not in judgment, but in the poignant, regret-filled space between these truths, following a couple—Joanna and Michael—who each embark on a separate journey of temptation, only to be left with the haunting echo of what they might have broken.

The film unfolds with a quiet, parallel tension. While Michael is away on a business trip with a captivating colleague, Joanna has a chance encounter with a former flame. The narrative swings effortlessly between their simultaneous nights, weaving a delicate thriller not of action, but of intimate choices. The true suspense lies in the aching almosts and charged glances, in the way each interaction with their person of interest escalates with a magnetic, inevitable warmth towards intimacy.

Directorially, the film paints its characters through these encounters. It offers moments of genuine romantic beauty, like the scene where Alex meets Joanna on the streets—a scene that feels less like a plot point and more like a memory being wistfully resurrected.

At the heart of it all is Keira Knightley’s radiant performance. She brings a vulnerability and subtle, childish flutter to Joanna that makes every hesitant smile and conflicted glance profoundly beautiful and real.

"Last Night" does not seek to dissect infidelity with clinical seriousness, nor to justify or condemn it. Instead, it simply observes, with tender honesty, the quiet perils and profound yearnings that can exist within a commitment. It is this very lack of a moral manifesto that renders the film a compelling, though ultimately gentle, reflection—perfect for a solitary, thoughtful viewing.