4:44 Last Day on Earth

Directed by Abel Ferrara

(Not rated)

**

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Abel Ferrara is the latest filmmaker to ponder what people would do if they knew the world was ending. “Too bad he doesn’t come up with an interesting answer,” said Scott Bowles in USA Today. Willem Dafoe stars as an actor living in New York with his painter girlfriend, Skye (Shanyn Leigh). Having learned that Earth will cease to exist at 4:44 a.m. because of environmental collapse, the couple carries on with life much as they normally would—ordering takeout, Skyping with loved ones, making love. Though the results are “often laughable,” they’re also “weirdly compelling,” said Stephanie Zacharek in Movieline.com. The director of Bad Lieutenant includes too much found footage of other people around the world lighting candles and worshipping as the hours tick away, but he stumbles into some quietly poignant moments, too. The best of these comes when the couple orders Chinese and invites the delivery boy in so that he can Skype his family, said Scott Tobias in NPR.org. “If only the rest of Last Day on Earth could conjure up the same urgency and depth of feeling.”