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Movie Review: Last Flag Flying

Scott Davis

Dialogue in film can be tricky. Whether the screenwriter is trying to lay out exposition or have an emotional moment between two characters, the nuances of screenwriting are understandably crucial to a successful film. That is why most of Richard Linklater’s films are almost always successful. The man behind the “Before” trilogy (Before Sunrise [1995], Before Sunset [2004], and Before Midnight [2013]), Dazed and Confused (1993), Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), and one of the decade’s best films, Boyhood (2014), has a talent for creating entertaining and thoughtful movies that feature essentially just people talking. His characters walk through the streets of Vienna talking about their lives (Before Last Flag Flying posterSunrise), talk at parties on the weekend leading up to the first day of a college semester (Everybody Wants Some!!), and talk about what they want to see in the newest Star Wars movie around a campfire (Boyhood). Linklater is the master of creating natural dialogue between multiple characters and somehow almost always makes it intriguing cinema. His latest talk-a-thon of a movie is Last Flag Flying, which is based off a novel of the same name. Author Darryl Ponicsan gets a co-writer credit for the film, but the film has a distinct Linklater feel with his signature dialogue and direction.

As mentioned above, Last Flag Flying is based on a novel by Ponicsan, but it is a sequel to his book The Last Detail, which was made into a movie back in 1973 starring Jack Nicholson. Last Flag Flying is not a sequel to that film, but Linklater has described it as a companion piece. Linklater’s film follows three Vietnam War Navy veterans—Larry “Doc” Shepherd played by Steve Carell, Richard Mueller played by Laurence Fishburne, and Sal Nealon played by Bryan Cranston—who are reunited in 2003 when Doc receives the news that his son was killed while serving in Iraq. Doc finds his old war buddies and asks for their help to bring his son’s body back home.

The film is not heavy on plot, but is so on character interaction. What Linklater does so well in his movies is that he usually pits two or more characters in the same place with different viewpoints and just lets them talk. That’s what made the “Before” trilogy so great is that these characters are just walking and talking, and because they don’t always agree, we get to learn about each of them as characters. He does this again in Boyhood, Everybody Wants Some!!, and especially in Last Flag Flying. The main dynamic comes from Cranston’s Sal and Fishburne’s Mueller. Cranston plays a Vietnam veteran who at first doesn’t seem very likable and doesn’t care who he offends, but as the film progresses, you sympathize with what he has been through. The opposite happens with Fishburne’s character as he plays a pastor. At first, it’s easy to sympathize with him, but you learn more about his past as the film goes on and that becomes hard to do. You learn more about both characters by the way they talk to each other and their differing viewpoints. While Mueller hit rock bottom both during and after the Vietnam War and used religion to better himself, Sal instead never really shook his demons and is a wisecracking jerk for most of the movie. But what makes these two characters great is that the audience can relate to both at various points throughout the film.

Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, and Bryan Cranston in “Last Flag Flying.” Photo by WILSON WEBB.

While Cranston and Fishburne give Linklater plenty of opportunities to show off his talent, it is really Carell who steals the show in Last Flag Flying. Carell has changed his career path after The Office as he shown that he can be an incredibly effective dramatic actor. While many are praising him for his work in Battle of the Sexes (2017), I found his character in that film to be incredibly one note, which is not the case in Last Flag Flying. Carell is as three dimensional as they come as you come to understand the trauma and hardships he is facing. He takes Linklater’s dialogue and adds a human element that I don’t think most actors would have been able to achieve. He is heartbreaking one minute, hilarious the next, and subtle the moment after that. He shows off his wide range as an actor and should be remembered come awards season.

It might be unfair to compare Last Flag Flying to Linklater’s other work as it does fall somewhat short of his best work. What he excels at here is making his dialogue sound and feel natural—though there are arguably a couple moments and scenes that feel a little forced. It felt like Linklater wanted to make a point (particularly with regards to a certain Navy official) and didn’t know how else to get that across. It might not bother some viewers, but knowing that Linklater is able to handle those situations in a much more subtle and effective way, makes it stick out a bit more.

While Last Flag Flying doesn’t hit its beats as hard as Linklater’s best work, it is a film that will have you experiencing every emotion under the sun. You’ll laugh, cry, think, and most importantly, feel. It’s a movie about friendship, who you were and how that affects who you are, and how war changes individuals both present and decades after an experience. Once it’s over, you feel like you have gotten to know these characters through their emotional journey, and that’s what the best Linklater films do. He’s one of the best working today, and although Last Flag Flying slightly trails behind his best, it’s still a worthy road trip you’ll want to tag along on.

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Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.
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