The Last Time I Committed Suicide
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| The Last Time I Committed Suicide | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen T. Kay |
| Written by | Stephen T. Kay |
| Produced by | Edward Bates Louise Rosner |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bobby Bukowski |
| Edited by | Dorian Harris |
| Music by | Tyler Bates |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Multicom Entertainment Group Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,000,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $46,362[1] |
The Last Time I Committed Suicide is a 1997 American drama film directed by Stephen T. Kay. Based on a 1950 letter written by Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac, it stars Thomas Jane as Cassady. The cast also includes Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, Gretchen Mol and Claire Forlani. It received a limited release on June 20, 1997.[2]
The action of the letter took place in 1946, when Cassady was 20.[3]
Told from Neal Cassady's (Thomas Jane) perspective, in a form of a letter, the film follows his life before and after the suicide attempt by his longtime lover, Joan (Claire Forlani). Demonstrating Neal's active mind and ever-changing thoughts, the film jumps back and forth between before and after the attempt.
The story begins the day of Joan's suicide attempt, with Neal sitting in the hall outside Joan's hospital room. The story then jumps to the day before the suicide attempt, where a rain-soaked Neal whisks Joan away from her job. They have an intimate night together. After, she sits on the bed, sad, but Neal keeps professing his love to her. The scene returns to the hospital room, silence between them. Neal is told he has to leave.
The story moves ahead, with Ben (Adrien Brody) visiting Neal. He asks Neal if he has been back to the hospital to which Neal replies no. It cuts ahead to Neal wide awake, drinking coffee and eating bread with Ben. In a manic state, Neal tells Ben about the story he wants to write.
Neal encounters his friend Harry (Keanu Reeves), who suggests the two of them pick up some girls and take them out on a road trip in a stolen car. They all drive out into the country, flying down the roads. Later, at Neal's job at a tire plant, Neal's friend Jerry finds Neal obviously high, and saves him from getting in trouble.
Eventually, Neal makes amends with Joan, and decides to settle down with her. On his way to pick up a suit for a job interview, he runs into a drunk Harry, who asks him to come in for a beer. Neal ends up drunk, and Harry convinces him to call Mary (Gretchen Mol), his teenaged ex-girlfriend. When Mary sneaks out of her house, her mother calls the police, who arrest Neal just as he is about to leave. He is allowed to make a phone call, but he doesn't know Joan's phone number. When Mary refuses to testify against Neal, the charges are dropped. The police nevertheless hold him on the false premise of suspicion of burglary. After spending two weeks in jail, Neal is released. He goes to Joan's house, but finds it empty; he waits, but eventually it is obvious she isn't coming back. He walks back down the porch, steals a car, and disappears.
Neal finishes writing the letter and places it in an envelope. Walking away, he throws the pages of his novel into the air, paper flying and landing everywhere.
Cast
- Thomas Jane as Neal Cassady
- Claire Forlani as Joan
- Adrien Brody as Ben
- Keanu Reeves as Harry
- Gretchen Mol as Mary
- Jim Haynie as Jerry[4]
Production
Filming occurred in Ogden, Utah and Los Angeles, California. It was the directorial debut of New Zealand-born American filmmaker Stephen Kay, whose prior credits included small acting roles on television.
In a June 1997 interview with E!, Keanu Reeves recalled "I knew Stephen. He had written this script about Neal Cassady. I told him I dug it. 'I dug it, brother'—one of the most fun things about the piece was calling everybody 'brother.' I love that fraternity. 'Hey, brother.' 'Hey, brother, man.'—and a couple of months down the road, Stephen asked if I was interested in playing Harry."[5] He also revealed he was a fan of Cassady and other Beat writers as a teenager, reflecting that "To me, these writers represented the epic language they used invoking the Greek and Roman gods. That Bacchus and Dionysian aspect resonated with me, and I used that to try and read my life and break out of myself, search for new sensations--living the moment, staying up late, traveling, experiencing."[5]
To better suit the role of Harry, Reeves allowed his weight to balloon out to 200 pounds.[6][7] However, he had already gained a substantial amount of weight prior to accepting the role; this was due to a back injury he sustained in a game of hockey during the lead up to the filming of 1996's Chain Reaction.[7] Reeves appeared at his normal weight in Feeling Minnesota—released in September 1996 between Chain Reaction (August 1996) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)—since it was filmed prior to Chain Reaction and the hockey injury.[8][9]
Music
The score was handled by composer Tyler Bates, who later collaborated with Reeves on the John Wick franchise.[10] On July 29, 1997, a soundtrack album was released by jazz label Blue Note Records. It included the licensed jazz songs used throughout, as well as some of the original music created for the film.[11]