The Last Castle (2001)

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writers (WGA):

David Scarpa (story)
David Scarpa (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A castle can only have one king

Plot:

A Court Martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.

Plot Keywords:

General | Prison | Military | Warden | Colonel

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Redford	...	Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin
James Gandolfini	...	Col. Winter
Mark Ruffalo	...	Yates
Steve Burton	...	Capt. Peretz
Delroy Lindo	...	Gen. Wheeler
Paul Calderon	...	Dellwo
Samuel Ball	...	Duffy
Jeremy Childs	...	Cutbush
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Cpl. Ramon Aguilar
George W. Scott	...	Thumper
Brian Goodman	...	Beaupre
Michael Irby	...	Enriquez
Frank Military	...	Doc Lee Bernard
Maurice Bullard	...	Sgt. McLaren
Nick Kokich	...	Pvt. Niebolt

Also Known As:

The Castle (USA) (working title)
Untitled Rod Lurie Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violence.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #38538) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Originally, Col. Winter (James Gandolfini) was supposed to smoke cigars. Gandolfini pleaded with director Rod Lurie to drop the idea because he felt smoking cigars would remind audiences too much of Tony Soprano, his star-making role in "The Sopranos" (1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: After Yates flies the helicopter into the gun tower, the helicopter begins to flip and you see that the door is no longer on Yates's side, but when it comes to a halt, not only is the door there but it's closed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Irwin: Take a look at a castle. Any castle. Now break down the key elements that make it a castle. They haven't changed in a thousand years. 1: Location. A site on high ground that commands the territory as far as the eye can see. 2: Protection. Big walls, walls strong enough to withstand a frontal attack...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ring Two (2005)

Soundtrack:

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

None of it really amounts to much but it is watchable if not totally worthy of the heavyweights involved

Stripped of his rank and sentenced to 10 years in a military prison, Lt. General Irwin's reputation is still very much alive, to the point that the jail's commander has a certain degree of respect for him. Regardless of this though, Irwin must not abide by Winter's rules and become just another of the men. Looking to just serve out his time and go home, Irwin tries to accept his new surroundings, but he finds that the men look to him with a respect that he wishes would go away. However as he becomes familiar with the practises within the prison, he cannot help but assume a leadership role – bringing him into direct confrontation with Winter over the brutal, domineering methods he uses.

Despite being a total box office flop, I was still sufficiently attracted by Lurie and the cast he had put together to give this film a chance (albeit on DVD rather than in the cinema). The film is a mix of two types of film and it manages to do neither of them that well, but well enough to produce an enjoyable if forgettable film. The first half of the film is a sort of drama, with Irwin teaching the men the respect and humanity that (supposedly) they once had as soldiers. This half is OK mainly because the fatherly Redford makes his character work pretty well at this stuff – it isn't brilliant but it is OK to watch. The second half sees the film become increasingly illogical as the contest between Irwin and Winter intensifies up to the point where a slightly silly final action sequence. I won't say enough to spoil it for anybody, but the final sequence of events grows more and more unlikely by each passing event. Happily it is also quite exciting for what it is and the temptation to scoff at it is delayed (slightly) by the distraction value of it. It is not a great story by any means but it is workable – and the director and cast are just about good enough to make the weak into the watchable, the empty into the entertaining.

Ex-Empire critic Lurie will always interest me because he had the guts to do what few critics could – stop analysing others and make something themselves. His direction is good and he handles the action sequences well (their weaknesses being in their writing, not in his delivery). The cast are talented and do their best with a script that is not as good as their talent deserved. Redford has an easy task – playing an elder statesman, full of charisma and high principles. He does this well as one would expect from an actor if his caliber. Gandolfini plays back his accent in an attempt to keep his character away from his 'Sopranoisms' but the script doesn't help him. Gadolfini plays a 'little man', one whom we half feel sorry for and half we dislike; he does well to keep both these sides out, but at the end of the film the script is only really interesting in making him a controlling monster and his performance doesn't really matter one way or the other. The support cast has quite a few well-known faces, most of who are pretty good. Lindo is more of an add-on but the ever-reliable Ruffalo who shows here why he now has the reputation of a solid support man.

Collins has a simple, stuttering character but it is still nice to see him in something other than a gangbanger role. The rest of the support are good enough, even if they don't have a great deal to do.

Overall this is an average film that seems to aspire to a higher level at one point and then just settle for action and explosions at later stages. None of it really amounts to much but the first half is enjoyable as a fairly clichéd drama and the second half is quite enjoyable even if it is silly and overblown. I can understand why it didn't really do much at the box office but as a DVD it works well enough to pass a few hours even if it never really does much more than go through the motions.