“Last Flag Flying”– Movie Review

On the opening night of The 55th New York Film Festival, I attended the World Premiere of director Richard Linklater’s new comedy-drama, “Last Flag Flying”, starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. 

Synopsis

When a trio of Vietnam War veterans reunite to help bury one of their sons, will they be able to resolve a dark secret from their shared past?

Story

In 2003, America finds itself in the incipient days of The Iraq War.  It is at this point that Doc (Carell), decides to look up Sal (Cranston), an old buddy of his from decades ago – Doc and Sal both served together in the military during The Vietnam War.  Doc convinces Sal to leave the bar he now owns so they can meet up with the final member of their troika, Mueller (Fishburne), who used to lead them in their long-gone days of raising hell.  Sal is chagrined to learn that the wild man he once knew Mueller to be is now a minister well regarded by his congregation.  

Over a meal at Mueller’s house, Doc reveals the reason for this sudden reunion:  his son, a Marine, just died while serving in Iraq.  As a recent widower, finds he cannot bury his son by himself, so he calls upon the two friends from his youth to provide him with the emotional support he so desperately needs.  While Sal is willing to help, Mueller is extremely reluctant.  Finally, at his wife’s urging, Mueller agrees to join them.  Although Doc’s son will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with other military heroes, they must first venture to The Dover Air Force Base to receive the body. 

While there, the trio learn the real way in which Doc’s son perished.  Upon hearing this, Doc now feels he should not be interred at Arlington; instead, he wants to take his boy back to his home in New Hampshire and have him laid to rest there.  With this, the men travel with the body via train to Doc’s home.  Along the way, they find compelled to revisit a period from their time in the military which they’d prefer to forget because it resulted in the death of one of their military brothers.  Decades later, can this triumvirate find a way to right an old wrong so they can bury Doc’s son with a clear conscience?   

Review

It is likely that most professional film critics will fall all over themselves gushing over “Last Flag Flying” in their review.  There are many reasons for this:  for one thing, they see this as a serious contender for awards and they don’t want to miss the boat calling this one.  For another thing, it is an anti-war movie, so they will feel obligated to throw their support behind it for fear of not appearing politically correct.  Also, there is the matter of the names associated here:  director Linklater (whose “Boyhood” from a few years ago earned many nominations) and the stars – Carell, Cranston and Fishburne – who are among the finest in this country. 

Keeping all of that in mind, perhaps it is now time to tell The Emperor he’s not wearing any clothes.  “Last Flag Flying” is based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater.  The big screen adaptation is rather lacking in dramatic impact, although reading its original narrative version may have resulted in a more emotional effect.  This is one of those buddy road movies where the buddies don’t always like each other, which is what generates some of the comic moments; it has been unfairly but inevitably compared to the old Jack Nicholson film, “The Last Detail”.  While “The Last Detail” is really something of a coming of age story, “Last Flag Flying” is more of a coming to terms story.     

As far as the performances are concerned, Carell and Fisburne are superb in their understated portrayals whereas Cranston, for all of his talent, really just appears to be chewing the scenery much of the time.  This acting choice was probably based on two factors:  first, his manic character is a stark contrast against the other two, which makes him stand out all the more.  Also, Sal is supposed to have a metal plate in his head, as the result of a war injury; taking this into consideration, it probably seemed acceptable to play the character as broadly as possible.