Last Call (also known as Fitzgerald) is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2002.
The topic is the last two years of the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life (1939-1940).
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Writer and director: Henry Bromell
** Based on a book by Frances Kroll Ring
** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video
** Run time: 108 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Jeremy Irons as F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) – an author
** Neve Campbell as Frances Kroll (1916-2015) – Scott’s secretary and personal assistant 1939-1940
** Sissy Spacek as Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948) – Scott’s wife – they get married in 1920 – later they separate, but technically they are married until his death in 1940
** Natalie Radford as Sheilah Graham (1904-1988) – a British-born gossip columnist who lives and works in the US – Scott’s mistress in the 1930s
** Kathleen Monroe as Frances Scott Fitzgerald (“Scottie”) (1921-1986) – the only daughter of Scott and Zelda
Kroll was Scott’s secretary and personal assistant during the last twenty months of his life: from April 1939 until his death in December 1940. In 1943, when she married George Joseph Ring, she became Frances Kroll Ring. They were married until his death in 1966.
Her book Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1985. Since she worked for Scott during the last 20 months of his life, she was able to produce a first-hand account of this period.
In 1985, when the book was published, Scott and Zelda’s only daughter “Scottie” was still alive. She read it and said she was pleased with it. The drama is based on this book, which shows both sides of Scott’s personality: the good and the bad.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as stated here. But the basic story is true.
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I could offer many details about what happens in this drama, but I am not going to do that, because I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I will merely offer some background information and a few basic facts:
In the 1920s, Scott was a famous author. His novel The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. It was a great success. But by the 1930s, things have changed in many ways: he is no longer rich and famous. He is a has-been, whose life is falling apart. He is separated from his wife Zelda, who is placed in a mental institution.
In addition, he is undermining his health by smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol whenever he is awake.
But in 1939, he makes a serious effort to turn his life around. He wants to write a new novel. In this novel he wants to tell the truth about the big studios in Hollywood. He decides to hire a secretary to help him with this work. Kroll applies for the job and she gets it. This is how she comes into his life.
With Kroll as his secretary and personal assistant, he begins to work on the new novel. We know this will be his last novel. We also know he will not live long enough to finish it. He dies in December 1940, shortly before the novel is completed.
His last and unfinished novel The Last Tycoon is published posthumously in 1941.
This is the story we have in Last Call.
In 2002, when this drama was released, Frances Kroll Ring was still alive. She was able to see what happened when her book was adapted for the screen. She died in 2015 at the age of 99.
What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama?
Here are the results of two review aggregators:
** 58 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
** 65 per cent = IMDb
On Amazon there are at the moment 88 ratings of this product, 63 with reviews. The average rating is 3.5 stars which corresponds to a rating of 70 percent.
Here are the details:
5 stars = 35 percent
4 stars = 28 percent
3 stars = 7 percent
2 stars = 13 percent
1 star = 17 percent
A majority is positive: 63 percent offer four or five stars. But a large minority is negative: 30 percent offer only one or two stars. This is why the average rating is 3.5 stars.
If you ask me, all three average ratings are too low.
Why?
I have four reasons:
(1) The drama is very interesting, because it offers insight into Scott’s complicated and many-sided personality and the way in which he created a literary work.
(2) The script is well-written.
(3) The actors play their roles well.
(4) The drama is based on a true story.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent)
PS. The Last Tycoon was adapted for television more than 70 years after it was written.
The pilot premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2016. Eight additional episodes followed in 2017.
*****
A historical and biographical drama
(2002)
*****
F. Scott Fitzgerald
American author
1896-1940
*****
Against the Current:
As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald
by Frances Kroll Ring
(1985)
*****
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