Tiffany Gabbay at Truth Revolt reports that Sean Penn is not the toast of the Cannes Film Festival. He’s just toast. His new film The Last Face flopped badly. Here’s a few reviews:
“African conflict is aphrodisiac for white people in Sean Penn's crass romance“ (The Guardian)
“His worst movie...a total misfire.” (IndieWire)
“one of the worst receptions of a film I’ve ever seen in Cannes” (Austin360)
Ben Croll at The Wrap was no kinder:
Before a single image hit the screen, people were already jeering the opening crawl, written in purple prose and going on about “the loss of innocence… between a man… and a woman.”
Credit where credit’s due — it perfectly set the tone for what would follow, which is a spectacularly misjudged mix of humanitarian intentions and gonzo-terrible execution....
There were several lines so wincingly written and embarrassingly delivered that they caused the audience at the press screening to burst into sarcastic applause.
But Penn claimed this film was crucial:
"I've got an `everything is riding on it' deal going to Cannes this year," he added. "I think [the movie] will disappear if it gets a poor reaction and I think that would be a terrible shame because it's very relevant now and the performances are transcendent...I've given it all I've got."
Spoiler alert for this mess, according to Croll:
[T]he outrageous ending, which blows past earnest and into the realm of camp. If you weren’t sure what the movie was about, let [Charlize] Theron give a speech, starring right into the camera, telling us ‘we are ALL refugees.”
Cue the music — a child choir, singing Peace Train.
Hollywood Reporter film critic Jon Frosch only heard it was bad: "There were a few films this year that I wish I could have slept through, though I hear I dodged the biggest bullet by skipping Sean Penn's The Last Face (or The Last Fart, as a former French colleague of mine referred to it)."
