Keeping the acting based mainly in one location. Utilising a cast full of relative unknowns, with a cameo from someone who already has a filmography full of various genre treats. Yes, we're in the realm of the directorial feature debut here. It's Alan Scott Neal sitting in the big chair, working from a screenplay by Taylor Sardoni, and there's certainly enough here to enjoy, although it's just a bit too slight to be remembered as anything more than a serviceable time-waster.
Jessica Belkin plays Nancy, a young woman who has to stick around for the late shift at a diner owned by her father, Edward (Jeremy Sisto). Some makes youths have been causing trouble in the area, which makes them the number one suspects when Nancy starts to be terrorised by some strangers surrounding the diner some time after sundown. There may be another explanation for the unfolding awfulness though, as starts to become clear when there's a jump back in time to show us the situation from a different perspective.
This is made well. The characters are sketched out decently, there's a fun moment before the terror begins that allows Belkin to dance and lip sync to an enjoyably loud and lively song, and some of the violence that ends up occurring is appropriately grounded and raw. It doesn't every feel very interesting though, nor worthwhile (despite the runtime being a nice and lean 83 minutes). The plot developments and character turns never feel natural and plausible, the lead character somehow becomes less interesting as they find the strength to keep dealing with the madness unfolding around them, and the third act all falls a bit flat.
Belkin is really good in her role though, good enough to keep you on her side even as she spends a lot of the earlier scenes being harsh and unpleasant to many of the people around her. Taylor Kowalski is okay as Jake, a young man who finds his day starting to unravel when he is suddenly fired from his job, Christopher M. Lopes is arguably the most sympathetic person onscreen, due to his vulnerability and how he is manipulated, and Joji Otani-Hansen and Michael Giannone would be completely interchangeable if it wasn't for the fact that one is meant to have a stronger attachment to our lead than the other. Sisto is very good in his few scenes, and it's worth mentioning how good Glen Gould is as a local Sheriff.
I feel like I've been a bit harsh here, especially when noting that the film isn't really worthwhile. To clarify, it's perfectly fine, especially when any scene is completely focused on Belkin. I just don't think it does enough to stand out from a crowd of many similar movies, whether we're talking about crime thrillers set mainly in one location or, more specifically, movies with memorable diner sequences (and the fact that I so enjoyed the recent diner-based The Last Stop In Yuma County doesn't help). If you're going to work with such a simple and well-known premise then you either have to throw in a lot of impressive twists or you have to fine-tune everything to make it the best that it can be. Last Straw does neither of these things, which is why it never transitions from good to great.
6/10
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