By John Corrado
In The Last One for the Road, Italian filmmaker Francesco Sossai crafts a delightful hangout movie around Carlobianchi (Sergio Romano) and Doriano (Pierpaolo Capovilla), two hapless, middle-aged vagabonds bopping around their hometown of Veneto.
Their nights are spent drifting between local bars, trying to find a spot for one last drink. They pick up a timid architecture student, Giulio (Filippo Scotti), who becomes a reluctant tag-along on a road trip adventure through the Venetian Plains, possibly in search of buried treasure.
Carlobiqnchi and Doriano, who lost basically everything they made through petty crime, share shaggy dog stories about their past. The loose ends, unanswered questions, and lingering plot points are all part of the film’s charm. In the wrong hands, this could’ve felt like a series of dead ends. But Sossai, who co-wrote the film with Adriano Candiago, ensures that every one of these beats feels intentional.
Like its characters, the film has a scrappy charm to it. Shot on 16mm film by cinematographer Massimiliano Kuveiller, The Last One for the Road also carries a slightly wistful, bittersweet quality, as a portrait of men drifting through the past.
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