Start with prison and the military: two of my least-favorite subjects.
Add Rod Lurie: the heavy-handed director of last year's preachy
critics' darling, The Contender. Mix those three elements together,
along with two actors predictably cast in opposing roles (James
Gandolfini, bad; Robert Redford, good) and what have you got?
A very good movie, actually. I was so pleasantly surprised by The
Last Castle, I'll gladly watch it again.
Redford ("The Horse Whisperer") portrays three-star General Irwin,
a renowned army tactician who has been court-martialed, stripped
of his rank, and sentenced to a maximum security military prison
run with unwavering cruelty by its warden, Colonel Winter (James
Gandolfini, "The Mexican"). At first Winter is in awe of the legendary
General Irwin, but that respect melts into white-hot hostility as Irwin
boldly confronts the warden on his archaic ways. Their
confrontation escalates into war when the general organizes his
fellow inmates into an army.
The progression of how this all comes about is very well done,
and Redford and Gandolfini, though perhaps typecast, are nothing
short of fantastic in their roles. Don't be surprised if you hear both
of their names announced come Oscar-time. The supporting cast
is superb as well: from Winter's right-hand man (Steve Burton,
shucking his pretty-boy soap opera persona) to Mark Rufallo as an
embittered drug-running helicopter pilot.
I'm not saying this movie isn't cliched -- in fact, it's riddled with
them: Every single downtrodden prisoner is a sympathetic
character. There's the retarded man-boy who is severely abused.
There's the guy who seems bad but turns out good. The helicopter
pilot's skills come in handy. And more. But it doesn't really matter --
this movie is spirited and slightly patriotic, which is the perfect elixir
for the American public in these troubled times. Not overly so, but it
will make you feel good at the end and there's nothing wrong with
that.
Add Rod Lurie: the heavy-handed director of last year's preachy
critics' darling, The Contender. Mix those three elements together,
along with two actors predictably cast in opposing roles (James
Gandolfini, bad; Robert Redford, good) and what have you got?
A very good movie, actually. I was so pleasantly surprised by The
Last Castle, I'll gladly watch it again.
Redford ("The Horse Whisperer") portrays three-star General Irwin,
a renowned army tactician who has been court-martialed, stripped
of his rank, and sentenced to a maximum security military prison
run with unwavering cruelty by its warden, Colonel Winter (James
Gandolfini, "The Mexican"). At first Winter is in awe of the legendary
General Irwin, but that respect melts into white-hot hostility as Irwin
boldly confronts the warden on his archaic ways. Their
confrontation escalates into war when the general organizes his
fellow inmates into an army.
The progression of how this all comes about is very well done,
and Redford and Gandolfini, though perhaps typecast, are nothing
short of fantastic in their roles. Don't be surprised if you hear both
of their names announced come Oscar-time. The supporting cast
is superb as well: from Winter's right-hand man (Steve Burton,
shucking his pretty-boy soap opera persona) to Mark Rufallo as an
embittered drug-running helicopter pilot.
I'm not saying this movie isn't cliched -- in fact, it's riddled with
them: Every single downtrodden prisoner is a sympathetic
character. There's the retarded man-boy who is severely abused.
There's the guy who seems bad but turns out good. The helicopter
pilot's skills come in handy. And more. But it doesn't really matter --
this movie is spirited and slightly patriotic, which is the perfect elixir
for the American public in these troubled times. Not overly so, but it
will make you feel good at the end and there's nothing wrong with
that.