Starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark
Ruffalo and Clifton Collins Jr. Rated M.
Take a look at a castle - any castle -- and break
down the key elements that make it a castle. On my count it's four. One
-- location - a site on high ground that commands the territory as far
as the eye can see. Two - protection. Big walls. Walls strong enough to
withstand a frontal attack. Three -- a garrison. Men who are trained and
willing to kill. Four - a flag. You tell your men "you're soldiers and
that's our flag. Nobody takes our flag". Now, you've got yourself a castle.
The only difference between this place and all the rest is that they were
built to keep people out. This castle was built to keep people in.
Court martialled and stripped of rank, three-star
Gen Irwin is incarcerated at USMCE for 10 years. A legend in military
circles, the new inmate is held in the highest esteem by everyone from
the stuttering Prisoner (Marine private) Aguilar (Collins) to commandant
Col Winter (Gandolfini).
Col Winter is a career desk pilot, probably on
terminal posting, fat dumb and happy in his own little empire. Looking
down on his inmates from the commanding high ground, he relies on terror
and manipulation to run a very tight ship. Intent on simply doing time
and keeping out of everyone's way, the former general does his best to
keep out of trouble.
Feeling resentment towards the obvious respect
accorded the fallen leader, Col Winter resorts, not so much to new cruelty
as reveals to the new inmate, the cruelty he is renowned for. The former
general, for his part, reverts to his natural position - leader of men.
Following the death of an inmate (the fourth such
death-in-custody under Winter) Gen Irwin and his new army are galvanised
to action.
The Last Castle deals, in its 130 minutes, with
the reasons for action and then the action itself without going into much
detail on the preparation for action. The detail of the preparation --
campaign planning and weapons manufacture -- become self-evident as the
battle unfolds. What also becomes quite evident is the worth of good leadership
in battle.
My wife didn't enjoy The Last Castle as much as
I did. She came away mumbling, "Bloody Yanks. All that patriotic bull."
Funny - that's usually my line. This time I came away thinking (because
I'm not brave enough to contradict my missus out loud), "They're soldiers.
They are supposed to be patriotic."
A good yarn worth seeing.
Check out the official The
Last Castle web site.
|