I post this merely to bring your attention to an upcoming movie for late January, Richard Linklater‘s latest Last Flag Flying. I caught the film a couple of months ago at the BFI London Film Festival, and it’s well worth the watch. Before we get onto the film, here’s the latest Last Flag Flying poster for the UK markets we have to share.
Last Flag Flying poster: Richard Linklater directs
Last Flag Flying will open in the UK and Ireland on 26 January 2018, through Curzon Artificial Eye and Amazon Studios. The film received its world premiere as the opening night of New York Film Festival, followed shortly afterward by a European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival which, as I said, is where I caught it.
In 2003, 30 years after they served together in the Vietnam War, former Navy Corps medic Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carell) re-unites with former Marines Sal (Bryan Cranston) and Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) on a different type of mission: to bury Doc’s son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. Doc decides to forgo a burial at Arlington Cemetery and, with the help of his old buddies, takes the casket on a bittersweet trip up the East Coast to his home in suburban New Hampshire. Along the way, Doc, Sal and Mueller reminisce and come to terms with shared memories of the war that continues to shape their lives. Director Richard Linklater and author Darryl Ponicsan collaborated on the screenplay which follows the trio as they wrestle with the pangs of war both past and present.
Related: Last Flag Flying review
You can find a link to my review of the film above, but here’s a sprinkling of my thoughts:
Linklater’s choice to direct a film of this nature is a strange one, but obviously, his experience of deep character-driven drama brings a naturalistic, emotional, thought-provoking narrative to the screen, though one with tons of comedic injection. It’s great to see him taking on something a little broader in terms of his skill-set too, and while it may not have that Linklater feel, there’s a lot of the filmmaker in there, and the completists should be happy with this ravishing road movie.
It is a slight, but welcome departure from Linklater’s previous efforts, but it is also funny, honest, warm and at times hugely sentimental. Last Flag Flying flies higher than most similar efforts in years and comes highly recommended.
Last Flag Flying opens in the UK and Ireland on 26th January.
