Zack Snyder’s The Last Photograph, a passion project that has been in development for 15 years, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, hoping to secure distribution. The film, which does not yet have a release date, is described as a trudging revenge saga filled with large ideas that ultimately go unrealized. Its 135-minute runtime, characterized by indistinct landscapes and a stark visual style, contributes to a feeling of excessive length.
The narrative begins at an exclusive birthday party in Colombia, where an American diplomat is murdered and his children are abducted by assailants who then kill all the guests. Snyder's depiction of violence is unflinching, but its repetitive nature can induce a numbing effect. Amidst the chaos, photographer Joe Wallace (Fra Fee), an American in hiding, witnesses the diplomat's wife, Catherine (Costanza Andrade), being executed. Instead of offering aid, he focuses his camera on her and asks for forgiveness.
Joe's supposed calling to capture the world's violence through his lens is a central concept that Snyder reportedly does not deeply explore. Joe is overshadowed by the diplomat’s brother, Ethan (Stuart Martin), a former special operative with a past connection to Catherine. Ethan, driven by vengeance, sets out to identify the killers and rescue the abducted children, embarking on what is framed as a perilous journey across an unforgiving landscape. However, the journey is depicted as a meandering and emotionally vacant trek through a South American setting populated by what are described as savage, predatory tribespeople, a portrayal some critics have linked to a retrograde streak in Snyder's filmography.
Joe and Ethan spend much of the film in close proximity but communicate minimally, primarily to reiterate the film's themes. This lack of substantive interaction results in a dull interpersonal dynamic. The film attempts to convey the difficulty of change through recurring imagery of butterflies, but this concept, like many others, remains superficial.
Snyder attempts to mirror Joe's compulsion to photograph with Ethan's propensity for violence, drawing parallels between camera shutters and muzzle flashes. However, both protagonists are portrayed as stoic and emotionally guarded, preventing the formation of a genuine relationship. This dynamic renders the film a joyless journey lacking energy.
While the film hints at exploring beauty and brutality, particularly through Joe's perspective, these themes are often relegated to dialogue rather than conveyed through action. Joe's identity as a literal drug addict, shooting heroin in multiple scenes, is established, but his photographic endeavors rarely generate suspense or curiosity, as the audience is never shown the world through his lens—a significant omission for a film focused on imagery.
In comparison to Alex Garland's Civil War, which more adeptly explores the need to capture images of violence, The Last Photograph revisits themes previously explored by Snyder in larger productions like Sucker Punch and Batman v. Superman, without offering fresh insight.
Stuart Martin delivers a gruff and imposing performance as Ethan, though his past connection to the land does not significantly inform his rescue mission. The premise suggests sincerity, with Snyder imbuing Ethan with a righteous fury and nihilistic outlook, possibly stemming from personal tragedy. Yet, these moments of psychodrama are infrequent, often giving way to Ethan's swift and easy dispatching of targets. The violence lacks a sense of catharsis or reflection, presented as mere occurrences.
Snyder's cinematography often captures actions functionally and literally, despite attempts at more evocative imagery with wide lenses. Repetitive flashbacks are employed, but they offer little new information and burden the narrative. When Ethan faces challenges, he is often aided by former military comrades, which simplifies his quest.
The film contains shootouts and dramatic moments, but Snyder struggles to establish a cohesive sense of place, rendering each event an isolated snippet. These scattered instances are interspersed with lengthy periods of inactivity, accompanied by a score described as little more than errant rumblings, and landscape photography that adds little depth to the underdeveloped relationship between the leads.
Joe and Ethan are presented as symbolic of Snyder's own perceived tendencies toward voyeurism and violent impulses. However, the indiscriminate use of slow-motion, applied to everything from gunplay to mundane actions like making a sandwich, results in a work that lacks emotional resonance.
The film's verdict highlights its failure to meaningfully engage with its ideas about image-making. The Last Photograph is a slow-paced revenge story rife with ugliness it doesn't confront, featuring underdeveloped characters whose stoic natures prevent an engaging or meaningful journey.