The Last of the High Kings

Last updated
The Last of the High Kings
The Last of the High Kings FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by David Keating
Written by Ferdia MacAnna (novel)
Screenplay by Gabriel Byrne
David Keating
Produced byGabriel Byrne
Paul Feldsher
Keith Northrop
Tim Palmer
Starring
Cinematography Bernd Heinl
Edited by Ray Lovejoy
Music by Michael Convertino
Production
companies
Nordisk Film
Northolme Entertainment
Parallel Film Productions
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Distributed by First Independent Films
Release date
  • 22 November 1996 (1996-11-22)
Country Ireland
LanguageEnglish

The Last of the High Kings, also released under the title Summer Fling in some countries, is a 1996 coming of age comedy-drama film set in Howth, Dublin, Ireland in the 1970s where the teenagers of the story are dealing with the birth of punk, the death of Elvis Presley, and the various dramas of their teens. The lead role of Frankie Griffin is played by Jared Leto in his first leading role. [1] Christina Ricci also stars as an American visiting for the summer. The film is based on the book of the same name by Ferdia Mac Anna.

Contents

Plot

In the summer of 1977, in the coastal village of Howth, County Dublin, Ireland, on his last day of secondary school, a despondent Frankie (Leto) believes he has failed his final exams. His plans to attend university and romance girls such as his classmates Romy (Emily Mortimer) and Jayne (Lorraine Pilkington) have been ruined. Nevertheless, he cheerfully goes out with friends that night.

The morning of June 30, Frankie anxiously begins waiting out the seven weeks until August 18, when his exam results are expected. Frankie's mother, Cathleen (Catherine O'Hara), berates him in front of his younger brother, Ray. When Frankie's theatrical father, Jack (Gabriel Byrne) arrives, he impatiently drives his car through the locked property gate, damaging it before greeting his wife and five children. Jack gives Frankie a goldfish as a preemptive birthday present because he will soon leave again on an extended trip to the United States for another stage production, which will likely cause him to miss Frankie's next birthday. Before leaving, Jack gives Frankie some reassuring advice about his future.

Frankie plans a beach party and fantasizes being with Romy and Jayne on a local beach. Frankie receives a letter from Jack offering further advice, which only confuses him further. When his mother goes out for the night at a political function, Frankie invites a houseful of friends over, but the party fails to entertain because Frankie and his friends neglected to invite any women.

One midsummer day, whilst Frankie and a friend attempt to repair the gate his father nearly destroyed, Romy visits to collect donations for the Labour Party. Frankie's mother later warns him to avoid Romy, Jayne, as well as all other Protestant women.

Erin (Ricci), a visiting teenager from Milwaukee, and her little sister, Rainbow, comes to stay with the family at Jack's invitation. Frankie impresses Erin by playing the guitar at dinner. When Erin admits to seeing Frankie as a mature grown man, his mother denies the possibility. As Frankie begins printing flyers for his beach party, his mother insists that he escort Erin to the cinema. On a public bus, Frankie introduces Erin to Romy and Jayne. At Romy's and Jayne's suggestion, Erin willingly demonstrates a cheerleading routine on the crowded bus, dedicated to Frankie to his embarrassment. Having publicly confessed her love for Frankie, Erin pries at Frankie for his true feelings. After initially rebuffing her, the couple share a passionate kiss. When Erin departs the next day, Frankie is too embarrassed to come out to say goodbye.

Cathleen pressures Frankie to vote illegally in the local election. Instead of actually voting, Frankie scrawls "FUCK YOU" on his ballot and puts it into the ballot box. James Davern (Colm Meaney) is declared the winner later that evening, to Cathleen's delight. Cathleen hosts an impromptu victory party where she serenades Mr. Davern himself. Frankie and Ray serve spiked punch to the attendees. Mr. Davern attempts to seduce Cathleen with flattery and kisses as her sons look on, but he soon passes out from alcohol poisoning.

After arguing with friends about the futility of planning a beach party, Frankie heedlessly wanders into a gorse fire. He succumbs to the smoke but is soon rescued by firemen. When Jayne walks Frankie home, she invites him to play pool. After playing pool, a jealous Romy watches as Jayne takes Frankie home, where they make love. Jayne kicks out the highly enamored, but confused, Frankie, and throws his clothes out the window. On his way home, he learns from a bereft friend that Elvis Presley had died earlier that day. At his mother's insistence to confess to the priest, Frankie makes a mock confession.

The mail arrives with the exam results letter early. Frankie passed his exams after all! When Jack arrives home by taxicab, he has the driver break through the repaired gate. Frankie reconnects with his father, who suggests he throw the beach party in Elvis Presley's honor. At the party, Frankie confesses his love to Romy who then joins him for a walk on the beach.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, on 11 July 1996. [3] It went on general release in Ireland on 22 November 1996. It grossed £104,249 in its opening week from 32 screens. [4] Unusually three of the top four films at the Irish box office were Irish made, with Michael Collins taking the top spot, The Van second and High Kings coming in fourth place. [5]

Reception

Michael Dwyer of The Irish Times was critical of the "uneven performances" and says that although "the camera loves him, Leto's performance is blandly unremarkable" and that Catherine O'Hara's is "wildly over the top" and her performance capsizes the film. [6] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club complains of the renaming of the film to the generic "Summer Fling" title, and describes it as "a pleasant, unpretentious, ultimately uninvolving film that hews so closely to the conventions of the coming-of-age film that it verges on self-parody." Rabin is also critical of the actors, saying "Leto is a washout as the film's wistful protagonist, and O'Hara gives an almost embarrassingly over-the-top performance". [7]

Adam Mars-Jones of The Independent says the film is formulaic but "What saves the film is the director David Keating's light tone -- he seems to be both indulging his audience's nostalgia and gently mocking it" and "It helps that the actor Jared Leto has a permanent twinkle in his eye which suggests that Frankie too realises both the gravity and the absurdity of his initiation into adulthood." [8] Anne Billson of the Sunday Telegraph called it "another slice of Oirish whimsy" and praised it for the incidental pleasures, but criticized for being formless and rambling. [9] Derek Elley of Variety called it "an agreeable cocktail from familiar ingredients". [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Long Days Journey into Night</i> 1956 play by Eugene ONeill

Long Day's Journey into Night is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the 20th century. It premiered in Sweden in February 1956 and then opened on Broadway in November 1956, winning the Tony Award for Best Play. O'Neill received the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Drama posthumously for Long Day's Journey into Night. The work is openly autobiographical in nature. The "long day" in the title refers to the setting of the play, which takes place during one day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Avalon</span> American actor and singer (born 1940)

Francis Thomas Avallone , better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" and "Why" in 1959. He is the earliest surviving singer to have scored a solo number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Leto</span> American actor and musician (born 1971)

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Additionally, he is recognised for his musicianship and eccentric stage persona as frontman of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Harris</span> British/Irish actor

Jared Francis Harris is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the drama series Mad Men (2009–2012), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; King George VI in the historical drama series The Crown (2016–2017); and Valery Legasov in the miniseries Chernobyl (2019), for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

<i>The Fat Spy</i> 1966 film directed by Joseph Cates

The Fat Spy is a 1966 Z movie that attempts to parody teenage beach party films rather than spy films. It was filmed at Cape Coral, Florida. It is featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Briefly released to theaters in 1966, it was rarely seen until the 1990s, when it was released to the public domain. Since then it has been widely released on DVD and VHS in various editions sold mainly at dollar stores.

<i>Cool and the Crazy</i> 1994 television film by Ralph Bakshi

Cool and the Crazy is a 1994 American made-for television drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi and starring Jared Leto and Alicia Silverstone. The story revolves around an unhappily married couple in the late 1950s who both lead separate affairs. The film was Bakshi's first feature-length live-action film, being primarily known as a director of animated films which heavily utilize live-action sequences, such as Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Wizards, American Pop and The Lord of the Rings.

<i>Muscle Beach Party</i> 1964 film by William Asher

Muscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series.

<i>The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking</i> 1988 film by Ken Annakin

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking is a 1988 musical adventure film written and directed by Ken Annakin, based on the Pippi Longstocking book series by Astrid Lindgren. It is a Swedish-German-American joint venture produced by Columbia Pictures, Longstocking Productions, and Svensk Filmindustri. While the title suggests a continuation of previous entries, it is in fact a remake of the original story.

<i>Pajama Party</i> (film) 1964 beach party film directed by Don Weis

Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures. The other films in this series are Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), Ski Party (1965) and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966).

John Billy San Luis Mamaril is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the forward and center positions. Like his father, former PBA player and Barangay Ginebra Kings slotman Romy "Mama" Mamaril, he is known for his physical and rugged defense. He played 17 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association.

<i>This Is War</i> 2009 studio album by Thirty Seconds to Mars

This Is War is the third studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on December 8, 2009 through Virgin Records. It was the band's first studio album in four years, after the breakthrough of their previous work, A Beautiful Lie (2005). The album was recorded over a span of two years while the band was in the midst of a legal dispute with Virgin over an alleged breach-of-contract. The case was later settled in April 2009, and the band signed to EMI later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings and Queens (Thirty Seconds to Mars song)</span> 2009 single by Thirty Seconds to Mars

"Kings and Queens" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, featured on their third studio album This Is War (2009). Written by lead vocalist Jared Leto across the United States and South Africa, the track was produced by Flood, Steve Lillywhite and Thirty Seconds to Mars. According to Leto, the lyrics of "Kings and Queens" explore the triumphant feeling of human possibilities. The melody of the song contains several qualities similar to that of 1980s adult contemporary musical works and is imbued with elements of progressive rock. The song was released as the lead single from This Is War on October 13, 2009.

Ciarán Fitzgerald is an Irish former film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Ossie Reilly in the 1992 film Into the West, which earned him a Young Artist Award. He has also appeared in films, such as, Nothing Personal (1995), Some Mother's Son (1996), The Last of the High Kings (1996), The Boxer (1997), and The General (1998).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Leto filmography</span>

Jared Leto is an American entertainer with an extensive career in film, music, and television. He made his debut with minor roles in the television shows Camp Wilder (1992) and Almost Home (1993). He achieved recognition in 1994 for his role as Jordan Catalano in the teen drama television series My So-Called Life. The show was praised for its portrayal of adolescence and gained a cult following, despite being canceled after only one season. The same year, he made his television film debut starring alongside Alicia Silverstone in Cool and the Crazy. Leto's first film role was in the 1995 drama How to Make an American Quilt. He later co-starred with Christina Ricci in The Last of the High Kings (1996) and received a supporting role in Switchback (1997). In 1997, Leto starred in the biopic Prefontaine, in which he played the role of Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine. His portrayal received positive reviews from critics and is often considered his breakthrough role. The following year, Leto starred together with Alicia Witt in the horror Urban Legend. He then acted alongside Sean Penn and Adrien Brody in the war film The Thin Red Line (1998). After supporting roles in Black and White and Girl, Interrupted, Leto portrayed Angel Face in Fight Club (1999), which has since become a cult film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Angels (Thirty Seconds to Mars song)</span> 2013 song by Thirty Seconds to Mars

"City of Angels" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, featured on their fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013). Written by lead vocalist Jared Leto, who co-produced the song with Steve Lillywhite, "City of Angels" was inspired by Leto's experience of living in Los Angeles with his family and was influenced by the city's culture. Imbued with elements of synthrock as well as music from the 1980s, the track was cited as an example of the album's variety and experimentation. It was one of the first songs to be written for Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, but required a long period of time to record.

<i>Sand Sharks</i> 2011 American film

Sand Sharks is a 2011 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Mark Atkins about a horde of monstrous sharks that swim through sand and hunt people. It stars Corin Nemec, Brooke Hogan, Vanessa Lee Evigan, Eric Scott Woods, and Gina Holden.

Elaine O'Hara was an Irish childcare worker who was murdered in August 2012 by architect Graham Dwyer. She was last seen alive at a public park in Shanganagh, Dublin, Ireland, on 22 August. The remains of her body were discovered on Killakee Mountain, south of Dublin, in September 2013. The investigation of her disappearance and later of her death was widely reported.

The first series of Ex on the Beach, a British television programme, began airing on 22 April 2014 on MTV. The series concluded on 10 June 2014 after 8 episodes. The show was announced in February 2014. The group of cast members for this series included star of Geordie Shore Vicky Pattison, and she was joined by two of her exes, fellow Geordie Shore cast member Ricci Guarnaccio, and Dan Conn who had briefly appeared during the sixth series of the Newcastle based show.

References

  1. Dwyer, Ciara (March 7, 2010). "Jared Leto". Independent.ie. The Last of the High Kings was my very first film.
  2. "Coming of age". The Irish Times.
  3. "Last is first".
  4. "UK Top 15: November 29-December 1". Screen International . 6 December 1996. p. 31.
  5. Dwyer, Michael (6 December 1996). "Irish films top box office". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05.
  6. Dwyer, Michael (July 19, 1996). "A FLEADH IN OUR YEAR". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 2019-07-05.
  7. Rabin, Nathan (2002-03-29). "Summer Fling". The A.V. Club . The Onion.
  8. Mars-Jones, Adam (5 December 1996). "All the young dudes: Film review" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 2022-06-18.
  9. Billson, Anne (14 December 1996). "Law of the jingle". Sunday Telegraph . Archived from the original on February 26, 2016.
  10. "The Last of the High Kings". December 1996.