By Guylaine Cadorette
Story
The film opens with prison warden Colonel Winter (
Robert Redford) greeting the highly respected General Irwin (
James Gandolfini) at the start of his 10-year sentence for disobeying a presidential order. When they meet, Irwin makes a snide remark about Winter--a non combatant--proudly showcasing military trinkets and memorabilia in his office. The comment instantly touches off a power war between the two, which ends with Irwin threatening to take over the prison and flying the American flag upside down--a symbol that the castle has fallen. Winter rises to the challenge and the two begin their strategic plotting. Irwin wins the respect of his fellow inmates in an overly drawn scene where he is forced to carry large stones from one pile to another in the prison courtyard and forms an army of inmates, using clichéd chess tactics to demonstrate his assault plans. Winter meanwhile, watches from his cozy office overlooking the courtyard as if he was watching a reality series on a big-screen TV.
Acting
The highly regarded General Irwin is a simple, solemn type, which unfortunately is what is fundamentally wrong with the film. While
Redford does the brooding thing quite well, the script never calls for him to do anything more than that.
James Gandolfini takes on the role of prison warden Colonel Winter with fitting simplicity. He accentuates Winter's dumb-thug persona by over-enunciating his words and speaking in an unnaturally slow manner.
Redford and
Gandolfini both churn out great performances, but it would have been more rewarding had the script called for their characters to be more well-rounded.
Steve Burton plays Winter's right hand man, Captain Peretz, convincingly, considering what few lines he has. His body language, facial expressions and dialogue manage to convey his character's thoughts even when his lines don't.
Direction
Directed by
Rod Lurie (
The Contender),
The Last Castle is a well-paced story without a dull moment. It concludes with a dramatic and exciting climax, but the problem is it's just too simple. While it's easy to get caught up in the story, it's hard to buy how easily the inmates are able to take control of such a heavily guarded maximum-security prison. Using cafeteria trays as shields is one thing, but hurling stones using a giant catapult that somehow went unnoticed by prison security is hard to swallow. So is the fact that these inmates, a group of hardened criminals, cooperate so easily with hardly any friction. While it could have been a very emotional story, it fails because the characters are one-dimensional and never really explored, including the two main characters played by
Redford and
Gandolfini. One is a great strategist and the other draconian, but viewers are left to guess why and how they got that way.