The Last Castle (2001)

Directed by: Rod Lurie | 131 minutes | action, drama | Actors: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Burton, Delroy Lindo, Paul Calderon, Sam Ball, Jeremy Childs, Clifton Collins Jr., George W. Scott, Brian Goodman, Michael Irby, Frank Military, Maurice Bullard

Until it happens to him himself, man is fascinated by crime. This is not only apparent from the many, many crime films that are in circulation. More telling is that each phase of a criminal career has produced its own film genre. From the crime movie to the court drama to the prison drama. Within those genres there are again different subgenres, so it is a breeze to provide ‘The Last Castle’ from 2001 with an appropriate stamp.

‘The Last Castle’ is set in a military prison somewhere in America. In prison are soldiers who committed a crime during their service and now have to pay for it. ‘The Last Castle’ begins when one day the famed General Irwin arrives to serve his sentence. At the end of his career, he made a disastrous military decision that cost the lives of a number of men. Irwin plans to quietly serve out his prison time, but is thwarted by the prison warden, the bigoted Colonel Winter.

All this results in a drama that is amusing through the successful combination of originality and cliché. The setting is original, a castle-like prison containing not the usual gajes but the less usual military gajes. The dining room looks like a softly lit cave with a meter-long mural; the main task of the soldiers is to rebuild the old castle wall. The clichés can be found in the messianic story of the noble prisoner and the tyrannical commander, in the fights in the courtyard, the mutual solidarity and the sadistic guards.

The fact that this is a military prison plays an important role. Through General Irwin, the men regain their self-esteem purely by reminding them of their military rank and their military deeds. Another unusual motif is the significance of stone, as an element of an impenetrable wall, but also as a monument to the hero and the fallen.

Remarkably enough, the far too long final is also worth watching. Although it is an endless uprising, it remains fascinating because of the variation in combat actions and the built-up tension. What helps is the strong cast, with an old Robert Redford, a medium-aged James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) and a relatively young Mark Ruffalo. All this provides 2 hours of not too complicated viewing pleasure, which the lover of the prison revolt genre knows how to handle.