Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna (2025)
Directed by: Rachel Mason
Premise: A documentary about the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.
What Works: In 2021 the western Rust was shooting in New Mexico, directed Joel Souza, shot by cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and starring Alec Baldwin. A set firearm was loaded with a live round instead of a blank. During a rehearsal, Baldwin drew the firearm, it discharged, and the shot killed Hutchins and wounded Souza. Press coverage and investigations followed with 1st Assistant Director David Halls pleading no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The documentary Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna investigates what happened on the set through archival recordings and testimonial interviews. The filmmakers of Last Take draw on an impressive number of sources. Some of the most startling images are found in behind the scenes footage shot the day of the accident and body camera footage from first responders arriving on the scene. This film does a good job of explaining not only what happened but also providing an explanation of the failures that led to the shooting. The documentary also has a human quality. Hutchins was lost in the frenzy of press coverage that followed, which largely focused on Alec Baldwin, and Last Take makes an effort to put a human face on the tragedy.
What Doesn’t: One of the key matters in the Rust shooting incident is the source of the live ammunition. No one has admitted to bringing live rounds to the set. The filmmakers acknowledge the mystery but they don’t make any discoveries. The dismissal of the charges against Alec Baldwin and the accusations of misconduct against lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey are not explored in depth. For that matter, Last Take does not break any news about the case. Viewers who have followed this story in the press won’t find any new information here but for those who haven’t followed it, Last Take does a good job of summarizing the material in ninety minutes. However, Halyna Hutchins herself remains at a distance. We see and hear from her in archival footage and her colleagues speak well of her but Hutchins is not really characterized. We don’t learn anything meaningful about her background, passions, and personality. For a documentary that is at least partially intended to memorialize Hutchins, it comes up very short.
Disc extras: Available on Hulu.
Bottom Line: Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna is a bit perfunctory but it’s well made and an antidote to the salacious coverage of this event. It’s lacking in new revelations or larger implications about set safety and prosecutorial conduct but it does provide an adequate summary of the 2021 accident while putting a human face on these events.
Episode: #1040 (March 23, 2025)