A titular sunrise, a summer fling fantasy, exorbitant wealth, impossibly sculpted bodies: such are the profitable story ingredients that make up The Last Sunrise, the latest offering in Amazon’s endless catalogue of “romance content”. I wouldn’t ordinarily use that term to describe a film, but it fits The Last Sunrise (indifferently directed by Carlson Young) like a glove. The movie is an adaptation of the 2025 novel of the same title by Anna Todd, whose After series – itself adapted from Todd’s phenomenally popular One Direction fan fiction – was wrung dry between 2019 and 2024.
In recent years, a particular romance category has yielded high returns for Amazon: from this summer’s Every Year After to The Summer I Turned Pretty’s memorable run, these stories are easily palatable, set in idyllic locations, and orbit attractive, heterosexual, wealthy couples. Nothing new there – one need look no further than any run-of-the-mill 2000s romcom to find the same tropes. But the narrative simplicity that once made room for electric chemistry between leads, perfectly tailored wardrobes and irresistibly depicted locales has given way to cheap melodrama.
With its improbable plot twists, family secrets and at least one across-the-face slap, The Last Sunrise is more soap opera than Under the Tuscan Sun. The soapy mood is accentuated by the presence of Eva Longoria, who gave life to Gabrielle Solis in ABC’s long-running prime-time soap Desperate Housewives. Here, Longoria plays Isolde Pera, the mother of protagonist Oriah (Maia Reficco), a young dancer who suffers from tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic condition that causes tumors to grow in different organs.
Oriah joins her mom on a summer-long trip to the Spanish island of Mallorca, where Isolde grew up and where her company, Redwyn, is preparing to build a swanky new hotel. The trip comes at a good time for Oriah, who finds herself at a medical crossroads after suffering a seizure on stage: she can either increase her medication dosage or have surgery. The pills numb Oriah’s feelings, but surgery would put her at risk of losing her memory.
She opts for the former, though upon arriving in Mallorca, she quickly dispenses with treatment altogether – she wants to feel every passionate second of her summer fling with Julián Garcia (Fernando Lindez), a curly haired local fisher. Oriah insists that the pills make her numb, but we never see any evidence to back up the statement. There is scarcely any dramatic modulation in Oriah’s character at all, whether imposed by the story or Reficco’s performance.
In fact, despite being the main character, Oriah makes little impact on the plot – mostly, things happen to her. Even then, these events are not dramatized; instead, they are described by characters in dialogue. Take, as an example, the fact that Redwyn is angling to buy the fishing docks owned by the Garcias, thereby destroying a century-old business and breaking Julián’s heart.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
