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Directed by Reem Morsi, The Last Mark centers on Keele (Shawn Doyle), a hitman who does not want to kill an innocent bystander named Peyton (Alexia Fast) after a recent killing. Bryce Hodgson is Palmer, Keele’s psychotic partner who is on on Keele and Peyton’s train. Find Your Film co-host Eric Holmes and I praised The Last Mark on our latest episode, and if you’re a fan of gritty action thrillers, this one delivers. My video interview with Morsi, Doyle and Fast is below!
Filmmaker Reem Morsi cited Blue Ruin as an influence for the Cheryl Meyer penned The Last Mark. Both movies are gritty to the bone, and The Last Mark is powered by locked in performances by Shawn Doyle and Alexia Fast. Find Your Film co-host Eric Holmes gave the feature a five star rating (I gave it four), so this is an indie thriller that we are both hoping gets its proper due. Take a listen to our podcast (review starts at 59:02):
“I like it when sets are real and gritty,” said Fast, whose extensive credits include Jack Reacher and the highly underrated Atom Egoyan feature The Captive. “We did shoot in a rustic farmhouse that had a basement. That was really fun – it might have been difficult (for the filmmakers) to get the shots they wanted because it was a smaller space. But I thought it was great because for me as an actor, it put me right in that space.”
It was also refreshing to see Keele not overly explain his origin story via an exposition dump. The Last Mark’s lean nature is its calling card. “I like the idea that (Keele) doesn’t monologue it at any point,” said Doyle. “The subtext doesn’t leak to fill in the audience. That is always interesting because the challenge is you still have to find that to fill yourself up as you’re playing him. But it’s great when you don’t have the onus to divulge all that to the audience.”
Check out my full interview with Reem Morsi, Shawn Doyle, and Alexia Fast. The Last Mark hits VOD on March 1!
