A
GENERAL LEADS A PRIVATE WAR IN THE LAST CASTLE
A three-star general pleads guilty in a court-martial
and is sentenced to ten years at Leavenworth in The
Last Castle, directed by Rod Lurie. The offense is
to disobey orders and ignore intelligence by authorizing a
foray in Burundi that results in the death of eight American
soldiers. Colonel Winter (played by James Gandolfini), the
prison commandant, greets General Irwin (played by Robert
Redford) personally in his office on his first day of confinement,
when Irwin says that he just wants to serve his time and get
out. Although Winter initially asks Irwin to autograph a special
book, he demurs when Irwin comments that the collection of
memorabilia in his office means that he has never seen battle.
But battle is indeed in store for Winter, who sadistically
enjoys provoking racial conflict among the prisoners and giving
out punishments way out of proportion to the offenses. In
particular, Winter picks on Corporal Aguilar (played by Clifton
Collins, Jr.), who is so impressed by the presence of General
Irwin that he disobeys regulations and salutes him, for which
the punishment is to maintain a salute for hours despite a
heavy downpour of rain. Irwin, meanwhile, assesses the social
and physical aspects of the prison the way a chessplayer analyzes
a chessboard. As the film’s tagline says, "No castle
can have two kings." One of his first moves is to end
the racial divisions by encouraging Caucasian prisoners to
accept Aguilar’s masonry expertise in building a wall,
and Aguilar carves his name in one of the blocks. However,
Winter arranges to bulldoze the wall in order to destroy morale.
Aguilar then places himself between the bulldozer and the
wall, whereupon Winter orders him shot with a rubber bullet
so placed that he is killed. Incensed by the mistreatment,
Irwin then plans to take over the prison, citing grounds in
the Unified Code of Military Justice. Meanwhile, Yates (played
by Mark Ruffalo) appears not to want to go along with the
plan, which is to conclude by raising the American flag upside
down. Winter asks Yates to reveal the battle plan, and Yates
discloses that the flag will be flown upside down. When the
prison flag is missing one day, Winter orders a shakedown
of all the prison cells, so the prisoners assemble together
outside, just what Irwin expected. Thereafter, Molotov cocktails
blow up some of the guard towers, a catapult hurls Aguilar’s
block into the picture window of Winter’s office, the
prisoners take over a water cannon, the prison’s helicopter
is seized, but surprisingly the walls are not breached despite
all the firepower. When Winter gives the order for all prisoners
to lie on the ground, they refuse. When Irwin gives the same
order, they obey. Irwin has indeed taken control of Leavenworth.
The climax of the film then deals with how Winter deals with
Irwin and whether the flag is flown upside down or rightside
up. As an action film, The Last Castle is one
of the best of the year. Careful reviewers will note, however,
that Irwin ended racial conflict rather easily by providing
leadership and a common goal, perhaps a lesson for other prisons
where rehabilitation is no longer the goal and racial division
is endemic. MH
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