‘The Last Bus’ Review: Even a Committed Timothy Spall Can’t Enliven This Lifeless Drama

Feb 19,2022

Gentle is the most fitting word to describe the aura of “The Last Bus,” Gillies MacKinnon’s placid travelogue of a movie about an ailing Englishman on a heartrending mission. Sadly, the filmmaker’s road trip errs on the side of excessive gentleness. For a tender movie that follows an old man on a long and demanding multi-bus excursion to honor his late wife’s wishes, the placid affair has curiously little emotional range and an even narrower sense of stakes.

Playing the retired engineer Tom, the British gentleman in question, a believably aged Timothy Spall gives the character his all, infusing him with a palpable sense of countryside dignity, but perhaps leaning a bit heavily on an exaggeratedly old speech pattern mostly made up of breathy mumblings. Respectably clad and holding onto his deceased wife Mary’s ashes for dear life, Tom leaves his John o’ Groats home — a location on Scotland’s northernmost point — and heads to Land’s End in southwest England (a nearly 850-mile journey, according to Google Maps), using nothing but buses.

Through several pretty-ish but painfully unimaginative and overtly costume-y flashbacks to the 1950s, we get to understand that the young Mary and Tom (played by Natalie Mitson and Ben Ewing, respectively) left their Land’s End home when an unspeakable family tragedy struck. Wanting to get as geographically far away as possible from their painful memories, the couple headed to Scotland, leaving their aching reality behind. Now, it’s up to Tom to recreate that epic journey in reverse and take Mary to her final resting place, armed with nothing other than maps and a bus pass that might have expired.

All things considered, “The Last Bus” feels close to a live-action “Up,” but without the Pixar animated feature’s grand romanticism that tugs at one’s heartstrings. Indeed, there won’t be any need for tissues here, even as Tom gets haunted by remembrances ancient and recent, with Phyllis Logan sweetly portraying Mary in her later years. Still, MacKinnon and screenwriter Joe Ainsworth manage to unearth some intrigue during Tom’s trip through engaging but shallow glimpses into the diverse fabric of modern-day UK. In what could be the most memorable of them all, the old man bravely confronts a racist drunk who harasses a niqab-wearing Muslim woman. In other sequences, we shadow him as he befriends a lively Ukrainian group who invites him to a boozy party with platters of pierogi and stays at the same lodges he and his wife once did. (It feels like a miracle that some of those places still exist and that he could even locate them.) In a less successful scene that aims to critique a certain bureaucratic mindset, a mean conductor kicks him out of the bus due to his invalid ticket. Passengers stand up for him to no avail.

To its credit, “The Last Bus” avoids trivializing old age, a common pitfall for many well-meaning films led by elderly protagonists. In that regard, Spall’s Tom feels respectable, gracious, and capable, with believable vulnerabilities that are never portrayed preciously for cheap laughs. It’s too bad that MacKinnon and Ainsworth don’t lean into this integrity further, and instead give us a rather whimsical ending that suggests Tom has become a social media sensation of his right — a turn that feels like a “Forrest Gump”-level stretch, to put it mildly.

Elsewhere, “The Last Bus” crawls when it needs to be speeding, making you wish for a little bit of a climb in its visceral landscape. But it all feels like a flat road of sentimental boredom, observed through drab, one-note cinematography. There is no doubt that the film has its heart in the right place, but most of the time, that’s just not enough.

Tags:

Timothy Spall Timothy Spall in news news about Timothy Spall

Swara Bhasker: 'You are our beloved dictator', Swara shares unseen pictures on daughter Rabia's birthday

Sep 23,2025

Actress Swara Bhaskar and Fahad Ahmed's daughter, Raabia Rama Ahmed, turned two today. The actress wrote a sweet note wishing her a happy birthday. She also shared unseen photos from her birthday celebration. This has been your year of walking and speaking. Swara Bhaskar shared

National Film Awards: This Indian star has won the most National Awards, beating Kangana and Big B.

Sep 23,2025

The National Film Awards are one of the highest-paid awards in Indian cinema. They are organized annually by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, to encourage Indian film artists. All preparations are underway for this year's 71st National Film Awards.On Augu

Dulquer Salmaan: Customs raid at Prithviraj Sukumaran and Dulquer Salmaan's house, find out the whole story

Sep 23,2025

The Customs Department is conducting raids at several locations in Kerala, including the Kochi residences of actors Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran. According to reports, these raids are related to vehicles imported from Bhutan. The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department has also arrived.Custom

Drishaym 3: Mohanlal prepares to deliver a triple dose of suspense, a major update on 'Drishyam 3'

Sep 23,2025

Fans are extremely enthusiastic about the films of Malayalam cinema's legendary actor Mohanlal. Mohanlal, who recently won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, is set to star in the third installment of the Drishyam franchise, where he is known for his pivotal role as George Kutty.He has now geare

Bigg Boss 19 Contestant: Bigg Boss's house will become an arena, and this international player will enter Salman Khan's show!

Aug 21,2025

The new season of Bigg Boss, one of the popular reality shows of the television industry, is going to start in just three days. There is a lot of excitement among the audience about the show. Meanwhile, the most talked about contestants coming in the show is. The curiosity of who will be a part o

Priyanka Chopra: Kareena, who was the enemy in 'Aitraaz', praised Priyanka, wrote- 'Made to rule the world'

Jul 18,2025

Priyanka Chopra is celebrating her 43rd birthday today, i.e. on 18th July. On this special occasion, the actress has been congratulated by her film 'Aitraaz' co-star Kareena Kapoor in a different style. Kareena shared an old picture of an award show on Instagram Stories and wrote that Priyanka w

Vidyut Jamwal: Vidyut Jamwal is ready for his Hollywood debut, will play a strong role in this film

Jul 15,2025

Actor Vidyut Jamwal, known for his action, is now going to make his entry in a Hollywood film. He has joined the star cast of the live-action film 'Street Fighter'. It is a film based on an iconic video game franchise.Vidyut's Hollywood entryAccording to a Deadline report, Vidyut will be seen i

Vijay Deverakonda: New update on Vijay Deverakonda's film, Kingdom's new release date will be announced today

Jul 07,2025

Vijay Deverakonda has joined hands with famous director Gautam Tinnanuri for the action drama film 'Kingdom'. There is a lot of excitement about the film since its announcement. The recently released teaser has further increased the expectations of the fans. The new release date of the f