Timothy Spall stars - brilliantly obvs - as a recently widowed elderly man using his OAP bus pass to travel from his home in John o Groats to his former home in Lands End. It was an understated beautiful film and I cried about 8 times, the last of which were floods of tears. Nice tears mind. Surprise of the year so far.
110 Reviews
A Feel-Good movie (in its own sweet way)
martinchambers13 December 2021
Any movie that brings tears to my eys is worth watching. It's a simple and harmless film with a wonderful soul at its heart. The story is told through and by virtue of a bus journey which is the vehicle for a source of sadness not revealed unit the final few scenes. The script is sparing and essential and there's no subplot unless you include the many encounters on the journey. Many of these encounters, even the briefest are full of poignancy and charm. A wonderful Feel-Good movie in its own very sweet way.
A beautiful, emotional journey. Skip synopsis/trailers.
njdaymond8930 August 2021
42 votes rated this 7.5 when I watched, but it's worth at least 8 or 8.5. The very few tropes and minor cliches are forgivable - the overwhelming focus is Thomas and his beautiful, sad, heartfelt, enduring, hilarious, eventful, human journey. You feel like you already know him - a man that all young men should aspire to become. Kind, moral and able to access and act upon core emotions.
Talking of Thomas, the actor Timothy Spall is cast perfectly. The characters you meet along the way also perform extremely well to the point you feel you're there with them, dancing, laughing, worrying and so on. Subtle directing excels. Eye glances and tone of reply say more than anything. A film for the emotionally capable. Try not to learn too much before viewing, it's a joy finding out as you go.
It seemed most of the 50 or so others and I teared up by films end. If you enjoy stories that portray humanity, emotions and life and want to be part of such a journey, I'd certainly not miss The Last Bus.
Talking of Thomas, the actor Timothy Spall is cast perfectly. The characters you meet along the way also perform extremely well to the point you feel you're there with them, dancing, laughing, worrying and so on. Subtle directing excels. Eye glances and tone of reply say more than anything. A film for the emotionally capable. Try not to learn too much before viewing, it's a joy finding out as you go.
It seemed most of the 50 or so others and I teared up by films end. If you enjoy stories that portray humanity, emotions and life and want to be part of such a journey, I'd certainly not miss The Last Bus.
Can't stop the tears
Gordon-1125 October 2021
I never expected "The Last Bus" to be so touching. The story is told bit by bit through flashbacks, and gradually fills in the blanks. This enhances connection with viewers. Towards the final twenty minutes, I really feel for the old man, sand just can't stop the tears. The film is really beautiful, and portrays a plethora of deep emotions effectively.
Bittersweet
celt0079 October 2021
Tear jerker
martin-957-3149725 December 2021
Ignore the Critics
ian-duvenhage30 July 2022
I almost didn't watch this movie because I read Benji Wilson's and Peter Bradshaw's reviews. What do they know anyway? This is a gem of a movie with excellent acting and very good directing. It's heart warming and who cannot use more of that these days?
slow... but interesting story
ksf-229 October 2022
Tim spall is tom, who decides to go on a journey from northern scotland to the southern tip of england. With his bus pass. It's a simple travel diary of tom and the people he meets along the way. He looks like a grumpy old curmudgeon, but he's really a nice guy once you get to know him. Fun story, as long as you're willing to overlook a few pot hole and plot holes. It moves pretty slowly. But it moves. And we see all his interactions with his fellow countrymen, good and bad. And the farther he goes, the more famous he becomes. He has a certain wisdom that some of his fellow passengers can relate to. It's pretty good. It's not based on any true story, but it's still quite touching. Directed by gillies mackinnon. Story by joe ainsworth, who has done mostly television writing. Check out the profile pic for ainsworth ... as of today, it appears to be a wooden mannequin... or something. And tim spall currently has six films in production... and has been nominated for five baftas.
Beautiful film
saratonkinson9 December 2021
A MOST MOVING FILM
nidou-4890319 October 2021
Timothy Spall gives a great performance and the story that unwinds is poignantly beautiful.
As this old man makes his way by bus from Scotland down to Lands End to keep his promise to his late wife he is recognised all over the UK via Facebook of his many heroic adventures on his journey. I say heroic adventures but don't think like that of Batman and his League but simply for his courage and being what most of us aspire for our children and ourselves in being an honest and decent person.
This film moved me so much and hope you too have the pleasure of watching it.
As this old man makes his way by bus from Scotland down to Lands End to keep his promise to his late wife he is recognised all over the UK via Facebook of his many heroic adventures on his journey. I say heroic adventures but don't think like that of Batman and his League but simply for his courage and being what most of us aspire for our children and ourselves in being an honest and decent person.
This film moved me so much and hope you too have the pleasure of watching it.
Timothy Spall is always great, but this is an awful cliche-ridden movie
emmawindred10 September 2021
I love Timothy Spall, but I found this movie toe curlingly cringworthy. The main character encounters various scenarios as he travels north to south and without exception each scenario was simplistic and crass. It was watchable but totally unmemorable.
Classy film making
webjunk-6263518 February 2022
A story about a bus journey. Just fantastic film making, and an outstandingly magnificent performance by Timothy Spall.
Nothing happens. Just this journey interspersed with flashbacks as to why he is making it.
You may need tissues handy.
Nothing happens. Just this journey interspersed with flashbacks as to why he is making it.
You may need tissues handy.
Enjoyable, albeit locationally flawed, film.
dpclough20 November 2021
A bit clinched, maybe, but nice story and an enjoyable film overall, with great acting from TS. Maybe most viewers won't realise or care, but (as a local) why not actually film the end at the real Land's End?! Sennen Cove would have been a beautiful location for the ending harbours scenes!! Nonetheless, it's worth watching.
Wanted it to be a classic
tanya-duffy15 September 2021
Absolutely love anything Timothy Spall does, his roles are diverse and this one is no exception with him playing someone very senior to his actual years.
Lovely concept with a simple plot but it just lacked something. Felt there should have been more/stronger references to him unawarely becoming an Internet sensation, although I guess that might have been the subtle tone the director wanted.
Worth a watch, but sadly not on my rewatch list.
Lovely concept with a simple plot but it just lacked something. Felt there should have been more/stronger references to him unawarely becoming an Internet sensation, although I guess that might have been the subtle tone the director wanted.
Worth a watch, but sadly not on my rewatch list.
From Land's End to John O'Groats, that's as far as you can go in the UK.
TxMike11 July 2022
I suppose for me the most amazing thing about this rather small movie is Timothy Spall, about 63 during filming, effectively playing a 90+ year old man with a number of physical issues. He is Tom, who at 15 managed to enlist and fight in the war in 1944. In 1950 he met the love of his life in Land's End and they were married. After a personal tragedy his wife's request was to "leave here, and go as far away as we can." So they settled in the far NE corner of Scotland, a community called John O'Groats, and lived their lives.
Then after his wife passed on in 2020, after almost 70 years there, he packs up and leaves everything behind to return by bus to Land's End. This movie is mainly about that trip, with his hand written journal to guide him he tries to recreate, backwards, his trip getting up there all those years ago. But of course not much goes as planned and unique adventures result. Along the way we the audience is treated to short flashbacks to fill in the story of his life.
This is a warm and simple movie, I found it on Amazon streaming, Spall's character makes it a very nice viewing.
Then after his wife passed on in 2020, after almost 70 years there, he packs up and leaves everything behind to return by bus to Land's End. This movie is mainly about that trip, with his hand written journal to guide him he tries to recreate, backwards, his trip getting up there all those years ago. But of course not much goes as planned and unique adventures result. Along the way we the audience is treated to short flashbacks to fill in the story of his life.
This is a warm and simple movie, I found it on Amazon streaming, Spall's character makes it a very nice viewing.
Spall Excellent, Writing Not So
deepfrieddodo24 January 2024
A lovely premise, visually very easy on the eye with good use of colours, and an excellent performance by Spall, but ultimately an entirely unrealistic film which can turn the plot laughable at times. With sentimentality taking precident over realism, every element of social media - a seemingly needlessly integral component of the film - shoehorned into the film is far funnier than what was presumably intended.
The emotional manipulation of the audience lands well, spurred on by a heartwarming selection of characters helping the 'hero' along. Whilst some performances are reasonable, all of the acting ability was taken by Spall, with some really poor acting by other surrounding characters, written for bit parts that don't really reflect a recognisable person. It's a pleasant, predictable, easy watch, but difficult to get engrossed in with frequent moments poorly feigning realism.
The emotional manipulation of the audience lands well, spurred on by a heartwarming selection of characters helping the 'hero' along. Whilst some performances are reasonable, all of the acting ability was taken by Spall, with some really poor acting by other surrounding characters, written for bit parts that don't really reflect a recognisable person. It's a pleasant, predictable, easy watch, but difficult to get engrossed in with frequent moments poorly feigning realism.
Amazing performance by Spall - spoilt by dismall ending
comps-784-3826529 January 2022
This was something different and original story wise
Spall gives a great performance and the story literrally takes you on the journey from Scotland to Lands End
You are totally sucked in to the journey and so the abrupt dismal ending leaves a sense of betrayal by the story writers. Almost a great film 6.5 is a good estimate in my opinion
Would I ever watch this again? Never.
Spall gives a great performance and the story literrally takes you on the journey from Scotland to Lands End
You are totally sucked in to the journey and so the abrupt dismal ending leaves a sense of betrayal by the story writers. Almost a great film 6.5 is a good estimate in my opinion
Would I ever watch this again? Never.
Poignant
cathyannemoore-6619631 December 2021
One is not uplifted watching this. It is a stark reminder that we all age and die. Throughout there are flashbacks of the young couple that contrast with the loneliness of the old man as he makes his last journey. Very thought provoking and touching throughout. But more the budget of a TV drama than that of a full screen release. Hence 6 stars.
A maudlin collection of right-on clichés
peterjamessharpe17 December 2023
I really hate to criticise what seemed to been such a well-intentioned film, but somebody has to do it. Right from the beginning, the clichés came so thick and fast that I quickly reached the conclusion that this film had been made as the result of a competition for the best young amateur writer or director, with Timothy Spall generously donating his services free of charge to the winner. Unfortunately this turned out not to be the case, although I it was revealed at the end to have been funced by the National Lottery.
It's a slow road trip, a very, very slow one, in which Tom (Timothy Spall, aged about 120 years old), embarks upon a bus trip from Land's End to John O'Groats following the death of his wife. It has to be said that Spall plays this part with great aplomb, if that is actually the right word to describe such a pained performance. To be honest it also requires a considerable suspension of disbelief, because he seems barely capable of walking the length of his street, let along embarking on a solo trip of this magnitude.
Only a short way into the film it began to look as if there was a long list of boxes which needed to be ticked, with the currently trendy cause shoe-horned in no matter how inappropriately (the Ukrainian party was particularly cringeworthy and unlikely, although the one on the bus featuring the fully-veiled Muslim girl and the racist was contrived almost the point of embarrassment. I'm sure that writer Joe Ainsworth achieved far more realism during his stint at Brookside.
Whether you enjoyed it (and it seems many did), depends on whether you can force yourself to swallow the quite faintly ridiculous storyline. I genuinely tried to, I really did, but it left me wondering how nobody had dared to suggest that perhaps some of the scenes needed a bit of a re-think, If it had turned out to be all for a worthy cause I could have forgiven it, but Sheila Hancock carried off a very similar character in a very similar plot much better in the far superior film, Edie. The most impressive thing about this film was the way that Timothy Spall, then in his early sixties, very convincingly transformed himself into an ailing man in his nineties.
It's a slow road trip, a very, very slow one, in which Tom (Timothy Spall, aged about 120 years old), embarks upon a bus trip from Land's End to John O'Groats following the death of his wife. It has to be said that Spall plays this part with great aplomb, if that is actually the right word to describe such a pained performance. To be honest it also requires a considerable suspension of disbelief, because he seems barely capable of walking the length of his street, let along embarking on a solo trip of this magnitude.
Only a short way into the film it began to look as if there was a long list of boxes which needed to be ticked, with the currently trendy cause shoe-horned in no matter how inappropriately (the Ukrainian party was particularly cringeworthy and unlikely, although the one on the bus featuring the fully-veiled Muslim girl and the racist was contrived almost the point of embarrassment. I'm sure that writer Joe Ainsworth achieved far more realism during his stint at Brookside.
Whether you enjoyed it (and it seems many did), depends on whether you can force yourself to swallow the quite faintly ridiculous storyline. I genuinely tried to, I really did, but it left me wondering how nobody had dared to suggest that perhaps some of the scenes needed a bit of a re-think, If it had turned out to be all for a worthy cause I could have forgiven it, but Sheila Hancock carried off a very similar character in a very similar plot much better in the far superior film, Edie. The most impressive thing about this film was the way that Timothy Spall, then in his early sixties, very convincingly transformed himself into an ailing man in his nineties.
Beautiful Film
steveatwal10 October 2021
A fairly thin, emotionally manipulative film
steiner-sam11 February 2023
It's a road movie set in 2020 following an old man on a bus trip from John o' Groats, Scotland, to Land's End, England, a distance of 874 miles.
Tom Harper (Ben Ewing/Timothy Spall) is a 90-something-year-old retired auto mechanic who served in World War II as a stretcher-bearer at age 15. After the war, he married his sweetheart, Mary (Natalie Mitson/Phyllis Logan), from his home community of Land's End. In 1952, Mary insisted they move as far from Land's End as possible. So they end up in remote Scotland at John o' Groats, where they live for the rest of their lives. When Mary dies suddenly, Tom determines to return to Land's End on a mission.
"The Last Bus" follows Tom's adventures as he takes many local and short-haul buses on his trip. He meets some kind and helpful people and others who are not. Through numerous flashbacks, we learn why Tom and Mary left Land's End and why Tom is determined to return.
"The Last Bus" is a fairly thin, emotionally manipulative film that could have had a better-nuanced storyline. There is the creative use of a social media sidebar as part of the story, but it's underdeveloped. Timothy Sprall, a man in his 60s, does a reasonable job depicting a 90-year-old man, though the dour look usually on his face is not appealing.
Tom Harper (Ben Ewing/Timothy Spall) is a 90-something-year-old retired auto mechanic who served in World War II as a stretcher-bearer at age 15. After the war, he married his sweetheart, Mary (Natalie Mitson/Phyllis Logan), from his home community of Land's End. In 1952, Mary insisted they move as far from Land's End as possible. So they end up in remote Scotland at John o' Groats, where they live for the rest of their lives. When Mary dies suddenly, Tom determines to return to Land's End on a mission.
"The Last Bus" follows Tom's adventures as he takes many local and short-haul buses on his trip. He meets some kind and helpful people and others who are not. Through numerous flashbacks, we learn why Tom and Mary left Land's End and why Tom is determined to return.
"The Last Bus" is a fairly thin, emotionally manipulative film that could have had a better-nuanced storyline. There is the creative use of a social media sidebar as part of the story, but it's underdeveloped. Timothy Sprall, a man in his 60s, does a reasonable job depicting a 90-year-old man, though the dour look usually on his face is not appealing.
Mr Spall shows he is a class act
andrewrye-0653511 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It must be very difficult to carry a film on the basis of one performance but Timothy Spall does it in style.
The story is simple and nudged along by Timothy Spall's subtle brand of humour and clever nuances. Mostly my rating is about his ability to carry an otherwise underfunded and meatless story.
We never got the sense of where he was, no major cities which he must have passed through, just Scottish countryside which was where the majority of the filming was. I didn't realise what age he was playing till well into the movie as he started off more sprightly than he finished, this could have been deliberate to show he was tiring from the journey and progressively getting sicker. The flashback scenes either showed him and his wife as newly married (or just prior) or old age getting the cancer diagnosis. With more flashbacks showing them in early to middle age it would have shown a deeper meaningful relationship and a full life which it didn't.
The constant befriending of a younger generation felt contrived, mostly they just wouldn't be that interested. So there was a cliched driven story that came across as disingenuous.
Overall an easy story, a Sunday afternoon inoffensive movie and I think we could use that in this day and age, so a 5 for Timothy Spall's superior acting and keeping me watching to the end.
The story is simple and nudged along by Timothy Spall's subtle brand of humour and clever nuances. Mostly my rating is about his ability to carry an otherwise underfunded and meatless story.
We never got the sense of where he was, no major cities which he must have passed through, just Scottish countryside which was where the majority of the filming was. I didn't realise what age he was playing till well into the movie as he started off more sprightly than he finished, this could have been deliberate to show he was tiring from the journey and progressively getting sicker. The flashback scenes either showed him and his wife as newly married (or just prior) or old age getting the cancer diagnosis. With more flashbacks showing them in early to middle age it would have shown a deeper meaningful relationship and a full life which it didn't.
The constant befriending of a younger generation felt contrived, mostly they just wouldn't be that interested. So there was a cliched driven story that came across as disingenuous.
Overall an easy story, a Sunday afternoon inoffensive movie and I think we could use that in this day and age, so a 5 for Timothy Spall's superior acting and keeping me watching to the end.
Brilliant!
mark1102-470-50216930 October 2021
A brilliant film, one worth recommending! I would watch again. A simple story of a man using his bus pass to travel the length of the country to return to his birthplace after the death of his wife. It illustrates human kindness, and the power of social networking. Yes, it tugs at the heartstrings, but it's also a feel good movie too. Don't miss it, your life will be better for the experience. 10 out of 10 for Mr. Spalls acting, a master of his craft.
Good Coming of Age Film - The Last Bus
arthur_tafero24 October 2022
This type of film has been done before with " A Trip to Bountiful" with Geraldine Paige. That was a classic and earned her an Oscar. This film can hold its own with that one, and is about coming of age in the UK. Coming of age films can be of any age. There is the passage from childhood to adolescence; the most common of coming of age films. Then there are coming of age films for adult, marriage, divorce, and job satisfaction, among others. This film is a coming of age film for seniors, who must go through the painful process of becoming useless to society as a whole, since society, despite it protestations to the opposite, tends to marginalize senior adults. Each senior must learn to overcome this prejudice individually. Some of us do , but of many of us do not. This is one of the lucky ones.
Spall is the only draw.
teachermarkthailand9 October 2021
It's a cheesy, melodramatic and tepid tale of a man who gets on the bus a lot. It's supposedly a journey, but we never get to see how it's progressing. It's a tribute to old ideals but the characters aren't likeable enough to carry the message.
The focus is on the old man at the expense of the scenery, which is a shame.
I'm an old man myself and would like to have enjoyed this, but to be honest, I was a bit bored.
It also felt like a bit of a lecture as all the minorities were just lovely and all the white folks were racists and drug addicts.
The focus is on the old man at the expense of the scenery, which is a shame.
I'm an old man myself and would like to have enjoyed this, but to be honest, I was a bit bored.
It also felt like a bit of a lecture as all the minorities were just lovely and all the white folks were racists and drug addicts.
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