Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried have teamed up for “The Last Word,” a portrait of two women from different generations who forge a close connection under unlikely — and rather morbid — circumstances. A trailer just dropped for the comedy.
The film centers on “Harriet Lauler (MacLaine), a once successful businesswoman in tight control of every aspect of her life,” the film’s official synopsis details. “As she reflects upon her accomplishments, she’s suddenly inspired to engage a young local writer, Anne Sherman (Seyfried), to pen her life’s story. When the initial result doesn’t meet Harriet’s high expectations, she sets out to reshape the way she is remembered, with Anne dragged along as an unwilling accomplice. As the journey unfolds, the two women develop a unique bond which alters not only Harriet’s legacy, but also Anne’s future.”
The description doesn’t specify that Anne writes obituaries. “The thought of leaving my obituary to chance is completely unreasonable to me,” Harriet says in the trailer. She insists that Anne start writing the obit while she’s still alive. Based on the footage in the spot, it’s going to be difficult for Anne to write a flattering tribute to Harriet — it seems as though people will celebrate her death as opposed to mourning it. “I hated her so much,” a priest tells Anne.
Harriet decides to change her legacy by changing her life, and Anne is there to witness and record her journey.
Directed by Mark Pellington (“Blindspot”) and written by Stuart Ross Fink, “The Last Word” hits theaters March 3. The film is screening at Sundance in January.
