Movie review: 'Last Night,' 2 stars

Last Night
2 stars
Directed by Massy Tadjedin
Starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Guillaume Canet
Rated R

“Last Night” is made in the tradition of the sophisticated, urbane relationship drama that was once a specialty of its co-distributor, Miramax Films. Pretty people engage in daring flirtations that question the bonds of matrimony in director Massy Tadjedin’s New York-set depiction of a tumultuous night for married couple Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington), and the individuals who threaten to drive them apart (Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet).

The stars, save for the terrific Canet, sleepwalk through their adulterous paces. Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) and Worthington (“Avatar”) are both out of their usual big-budget element here — and it shows. Their relationship seems distant and cold from the start, a series of stiff line readings rather than a passionate bond, overwhelmed by their haute SoHo surroundings.

The movie moves forward in a reductive will-they-or-won’t-they-cheat fashion, without much depth or character-driven insight. Sure, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes than staring at four sexy actors, but that doesn’t mean you should bother.