The Last Act

 The Book

At 140 pages, Philip Roth's novel is a short and quick read, but it covers a lot of ground. It does this by skipping chunks of time, with details mentioned briefly, but with a focus on pivotal conversations and moments that have a real bearing. There is very little to no description provided to set scenes and the reader fills in the blanks.

Simon Axler is an actor in his fifties who has done film, TV and lots of theatre work. He has a crisis of self-belief in his ability and can no longer perform, bringing him close to suicide in his depression. He spends time in a psychiatric institution and befriends a woman whose reason for being there is shocking. This is the storyline you want to be explored and developed, but instead we have Pegeen Mike, a young lesbian daughter of former stage actor friends, who is wanting to lay low after splitting from a passionate affair with a female university dean.



She settles down with Simon, changes her looks, her sexuality and starts redecorating. Simon dreams of having a child together, but Pegeen has other ideas.
This whole episode seemed more caricature than character and the downbeat ending left me feeling like I had just read a play. I hope the actors left after the curtain call and went off to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.





The Film

Al Pacino delivers a fantastic performance as Simon Axler, the actor who feels he has lost his craft.
His character sees everything through the eyes of an audience and his opening lines of Shakespeare - "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players" - is a continuing theme throughout. Simon listens and watches everyone else's drama, personal trauma and sexual pleasure with detachment, concerned that he is giving a good performance of his own, even down to his own death. 
The internal monologue from the book is delivered by talking to a psychiatrist via Skype, which helps to give background and move the plot along.
There are a few dream sequences that set things off kilter, especially one where Pegeen's mother turns up at a rehearsal, makes a revelation and then stabs Simon.










This sets up the ending for a clever confusion over whether the last act he commits on stage is really happening or not. The film's title has changed from The Humbling to The Last Act on its release on DVD. It certainly makes more sense.