4:44 Last Day on Earth is the end of the world within the confines of a New York loft, where a couple take refuge while awaiting the inexorably approaching extinction of our planet. Ferrara takes us inside the couple’s intimacy, as much in moments of desire and passion, as in soft conversation and arguments, while the characters alternate between blissful resignation to fate and a sense of creeping helplessness. The director weaves his unforgiving yet empathetic character study for two through a quintessentially New York atmosphere. After all, this city is probably the only place where seeing out the world to the tune of Fats Domino’s Ain’t That a Shame somehow seems just right.
Director Abel Ferrara was born in the Bronx in 1951. He made his debut in 1976 with 9Lives of a Wet Pussy a strictly adult feature. He later moved somewhat closer towards the mainstream, but without ever dulling the dark edge that has made him a standout among independent American filmmakers. A versatile director, Ferrara is likely best known forhis highly realistic portrayals of psychological and physical brutality set in New York’s underworld.
1990 Król Nowego Jorku / King of New York
1992 Zły porucznik / Bad Lieutenant
1996 Pogrzeb / The Funeral
2005 Maria / Mary
2011 4:44 Ostatni dzień na Ziemi / 4:44 Last Day on Earth