REVIEW: ‘Last Call for Istanbul’ Delivers A Memorable Look At Love

Ryan (Kivanç Tatlitug) first saw Samantha (Beren Saat) while waiting at a baggage claim. When another passenger accidentally takes Samantha’s luggage, the pair are drawn into a journey that leads them into the heart of New York City, discovering things about themselves and each other in Last Call for Istanbul (Istanbul Için Son Çagri), a Netflix Original film from Turkey. A chance meeting turns into one of the best moments of their lives.

Following Ryan and Samantha through the first half of their saga, it feels like everything goes exactly how you would expect. Due to the airport luggage snafu, Samantha needs help getting around or even checking into a hotel. Ryan, being the courteous gentleman, happily accompanies her to make sure all goes smoothly. When they check into the same hotel to await the arrival of the errant bag the next morning, the pair decide to get drinks at the hotel’s beautiful rooftop bar. Despite both being married, they opt to make a night off and explore the bustling nightlife of NYC. Eventually, it comes to the only ending that seems possible, with them sharing what’s left of the night in Ryan’s room.

While the opening half of Last Call for Istanbul is fairly predictable in its narrative beats around forbidden love, it manages to draw the viewer in, thanks to the amazing chemistry between Tatlitug and Saat. The way the duo come to play off of each other makes the “love at first sight” theme of the film manifest in every scene. It would be easy to believe the pair were in love off camera with how naturally they came to move as one throughout their time in NYC.

The sequences that come to make up Ryan and Samantha’s memorable night out are further augmented by gorgeous lighting and stellar cinematography. Dance clubs and dive bars are brought to life through the lights and feel of the settings as much as the music that wraps itself around the scenes. Small, cramped bars keep the camera in close, and the film isn’t worried about allowing shots to be partly obscured by intervening objects, further heightening the feeling of being in a real place that wasn’t set up perfectly for the camera’s presence.

The excellent interpersonal connection between the film’s pair of stars continues in the back half of the film but in a far different tone. Talking about the second half of the film in detail would give away an incredibly well-orchestrated plot twist, but suffice it to say, the movie takes a turn that sees Ryan and Samantha’s relationship change drastically. The fun and playful energy of the opening is replaced with a lot of hurt and complex feelings as the world that exists around them stops being the magical world of a night out and settles into a far more real atmosphere.

What makes the complexities of Last Call for Istanbul‘s second half so intriguing is the lack of an antagonist between the two. As the viewer comes to learn all the details of their lives, and the story shifts into one about married people and not about an unforgettable night of excitement, neither Smanatha nor Ryan is painted to be the one at fault for how the situation is going. Both cause problems, both try to fix them, and both make the situation worse.

Last Call for Istanbul wows in a truly unexpected way. While the story initially feels familiar, it turns into something unique, making sure that the fantastic chemistry between the film’s leads is not squandered on a run-of-the-mill romance tale.

Last Call for Istanbul is streaming now on Netflix.