The Last Man (2002 film)

Did You Know?

• Maureen Sutton played a dead woman in pink.
• Jennifer Sutton played a dead jogger.
• Dan Montgomery Jr. played Raphael, described as dumb as a post but good with his hands.

Plot

Alan Gould, a neurotic and unkempt anthropology graduate student, begins to believe he may be the last living person on the planet after a mysterious catastrophe appears to have killed everyone else. Buildings remain standing and goods are untouched. He runs around in his underwear, reveling in freedom from body-shaming, and explores abandoned stores. Alan acquires a video camera and makes a video log explaining to any alien race what he thinks went wrong, interjecting references to his fieldwork among the primitive Shitabi tribe of the Amazon Basin.

He tries, mostly unsuccessfully, to embrace the Shitabi peaceful philosophy. One day he finds Sarah, a beautiful woman who before the apocalypse would not have spent time with him. Sarah believes God is punishing her for her unfaithfulness in past relationships. Alan falls in love and tries to convince her they must repopulate the world.

She makes him promise never to leave her, but does not allow him to touch her, reluctantly joining him in his RV. While gathering supplies, they pass a hitchhiker named Raphael, a handsome, charismatic young man. Sarah is immediately drawn to Raphael, making Alan jealous.

Reception

The film grossed $3,908 at the domestic box office. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 33% approval rating based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 4.70/10. Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 32 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating generally negative reviews. A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that it feels more like a thought experiment than a fully developed story.

Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide noted that Ralston gets solid performances and the film has a polished look, but there is not much to it. Ed Park of The Village Voice remarked that if The Last Man were the last movie left on earth, there would be a toss-up between presiding over the end of cinema and another night of delightful hand shadows. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that what might have emerged as hilarious lunacy in the hands of Woody Allen or Mel Brooks comes across as lame and sophomoric in this debut indie feature.

The film was nominated for Best Film at Fantasporto 2001 in Porto, Portugal. It won the Lumiere Award at the 2nd annual New Orleans Film Festival and won Best Independent Feature Award at the 11th edition of the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, England.