The Last Castle (2001)

Redford is a good actor and played his part well. He has lines in his face, which make him look real. James Gandolfini is magnificent and shows the range of his acting skills because the role called for a complex and nuanced performance. As I was watching the film, I was so caught up in the story that there was no time to think about the holes in the plot. By the next morning though I felt it was all rather contrived and silly.

I was impressed by the clarity of the DVD picture and the extras at the end of the film, such as the director's voice-over as we watched scenes that had been cut. All this added to my viewing enjoyment. As for the film itself, it will appeal to those who, like me, enjoy war movies. Don't expect to cry and don't expect to laugh. There's high drama in the film, but it doesn't go to the heart. But I do find it enjoyable to just sit back, relax, and let the film take me where it wants.

Robert Redford is General Irwin (and three-star general), who disobeyed a direct order from the President and was found guilty at court marshal. Irwin, now stripped of his honor, is sent to the prison where Col. Winter (James Gandolfini) maneges with strict rules. At first, Irwin was thinking of nothing but "doing time, and going home," dreaming of the day (ten years ahead) when he can play chess with his still unseen grandson. But the situation around him, which is so severe for some inmates of the prison, wakes up something in Irwin: his anger against injustice. With his leadership, the convicted men, once deprived of pride, now believe that he is the man to rely on, and start to follow him.

In 1980, Robert Redford was in a similar (but with a totally diffrent tone) film called "Brubaker." If you remember that, or have the fresh memory of "Shawshank" and many other dramas set in prison, it is not hard for you to guess the development of the story. I must say here that for all its predictable plot, "The Last Castle" never fails to grab your attention. After all, Redford is always good at playing this type of hero, and Gandolfini supplies us exactly the kind of man who should be despised and ridiculed. Delroy Lindo's cameo gives a fresh air at the right moment, and you also got an uncredited appearance of one famous actress R.W. (or R.W.P.) as Irwin's daughter.

However, some might find problems right with those things -- Redford did too many roles like this in the past back from the 1970s, and he can do it while sleeping. Gandolfini pumps up his acting, and probably that is suitable for this kind of person, but if you have seen "The Mexican" (and yes, "The Sopranos") you know he can do it better than that, and could have shown more complicated side of the character. Inexplicably, Col. Winter seems to have his say at some moment (when he talks about his predecessor), but he is not allowed to do that. That is manipulating, some might say, considering the difficult nature of his job at prison. I agree with them.

There are even swell action scenes; there is a character who you judge soon is going to get killed, and you judge it right. There are many elements we find in prison dramas, and if you complain them, you will dislike the film. Your complaint is justified; only, you just have to forget it, to enjoy the drama which is in itself very gripping. But talking about the "waving flag," I just don't think that the US military system needs drastic events of this magnitude.

See this one as a good textbook about the quality of leadership, and as an absorbing tale of men and their pride. As such "The Last Castle" should be seen.