[rating=8.00]
As often as movies glorify stories of war, it’s rare that we see a story that takes place after. There are exceptions, of course. Born on the Fourth of July, for instance. But movies like that are the outliers. Like war itself, we tend to only focus on narratives that take place during battle, and forget all about the struggles of life after.
There’s a lot to mine in those stories, not all of which have to do with PTSD and reintegration struggles. Last Flag Flying is a powerful look at just what life after military life can look like, without hammering in on PTSD and psychological turmoil. At its core, this is a film about grief, both current and present, and coming to terms with the road life takes you down.
Though based on the novel of the same name by author Darryl Ponicsan, itself a sequel to his novel The Last Detail, the film is billed as a “spiritual sequel” to the Jack Nicholson film from 1973. Nicholson’s cigar chomping “Bad-ass” Buddusky is changed to Bryan Cranston’s cigar chomping Nealon; Randy Quaid’s Meadows is changed to Steve Carrell’s diminutive Shepherd; Otis Young’s “Mule” Mulhall is changed to Laurence Fishburne’s Reverend Mueller.
Name changes aside, you can see the direct evolution of their respective characters, though Cranston, Carrell, and Fishburne have been given license to interpret them freely, unchained from the portrayals of their forebears. This works shockingly well for director and co-writer Richard Linklater (who wrote the script with Ponicsan). Coming in with a direct sequel to Hal Ashby’s classic would’ve created too much baggage for Last Flag Flying to effectively deal with.
This winking separation from The Last Detail allows Last Flag Flying to be its own thing without stepping on the toes of a classic, while still letting audiences make the appropriate connections between characters and situations if they so desire. This is a risk that pays off for Linklater and gives everyone involved room to breathe. The results are often incredible.
The film follows the journey of two former marines and a sailor who all served together in Vietnam. Nealon is a gruff bar owner just living his life while Mueller has reformed his ways to become a small-town preacher. They’re brought back together by Shepherd, whose life has taken a turn towards tragedy in the last year, ending with the death of his son in Iraq. The three former brothers rekindle their bonds as they travel to claim the body of Shepherd’s son, along the way coming to terms with the traumas of their pasts and struggles of their presents.
Linklater is a director who knows how to step out of the way of his stories and let them unfold without much intervention. Much of the film plays with the same sort of walking around and talking set ups as his Before Trilogy, and for the most part the director sits back and lets his stars steal the show. And what a remarkable job they each do!
Never could anyone have guessed that this trio of stars, each so disparate in their abilities, would be able to gel together as magically as they’ve done here. Their personalities—those of both the actors and their characters—play off each other with sheer magnificence, allowing each to shine in their own unique ways. Cranston and Fishburne after take the role of the devil and angel on the shoulders of Carrell, each offering different advice for handling the situation. Carrell, meanwhile, has been broken by life, long before even the death of his son, and he captures the nuances beautifully and heartbreakingly.
Though not a perfect film, it’s easy to overlook the film’s flaws with all that works in its favor. There are several scenes of repetitious character development, and perhaps one too many scenes of the trio eating. More than a few scenes feel like they go on a bit too long—like the scene in the baggage compartment of the train, for instance—and could’ve been trimmed for greater impact. Still, those feel like minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, and the acting is always so superb that it would be difficult for anyone to leave those moments on the floor.
It’s an understandable, if not forgivable, mistake that never detracts from the overall importance or beauty of the narrative. Each of the three leads could be dark horse candidates for awards come Oscar season, and each would be deserving of a statue for this film. Though at times an emotionally difficult film to watch (especially with Carrell’s grief filled performance) it’s still a wonderful experience that’s worth the effort to see.
Last Flag Flying is now playing in New York and LA, with regional expansion on November 10, November 17, and November 22.
