Last Flag Flying

Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors, but I found his last film, Everybody Wants Some!, to be rather tedious and aimless.  He finds himself on much stronger footing with his latest, Last Flag Flying.  This is a familiar, but nonetheless still effective, story of three former war buddies who are reunited by a tragedy.  This is not a movie rich in surprises like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but it's kind of powerful in its own quiet way, and the three lead performances alone make it worth watching.

As the movie opens, a sad-faced man named Larry Shepherd (Steve Carell) walks into a bar run by Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston).  He has come a long way, as Larry and Sal were friends when they served in the Marines together back in Vietnam.  (The movie is set in 2003, which explains how Carell, who was born in 1962, and Cranston, born in 56, are playing Vietnam Veterans.) The two men instantly reconnect, though it at first seems a bit odd that they could be friends in the first place.  Larry comes across as calm and reserved, while Sal is brash, boorish and is never afraid to speak his mind.  After spending the night talking, Larry tells Sal that he wants to drive him somewhere.  They drive for a while, until they arrive at a church where the Reverend Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) is speaking.  He's another friend of Larry and Sal's from the War, and much is made of how Mueller has found God, considering the way he acted in the Marines.  When the three friends are reunited, Larry finally reveals the reason for tracking both of them down.

We learn that in the past year, Larry has lost his wife, and even more recently his adult son, who was fighting in the Middle East and was killed in an ambush attack.  Larry is headed to the military camp to view his son's body before it is sent to Arlington Cemetery, and wants his friends with him.  He also wants to bury his son in his hometown cemetery next to where his wife is.  The three travel to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base to pick up the body and begin transporting it, despite the objections of the colonel who is handling the transfer of the body.  They are joined in their journey by a young Marine (J. Quinton Johnson), who is instructed to accompany them and assist them however necessary.  He befriends the men during the journey, and eventually begins to share some of his personal experiences and memories of Larry's son, whom he was friends with, which leads to some of the more heartbreaking moments of the film.

Last Flag Flying is centrally focused on the aftermath of war and what it can do to people, but it does so in a subtle way.  There is no flowing, dramatic music, and while it can often be angry and sad, it is quiet and does not overact its emotions.  It also can be tremendously funny at times.  Much of the humor comes from the relationship between Bryan Cranston's Sal and Fishburne's Richard.  Sal is a steadfast atheist, and enjoys not just poking fun at Richard for his beliefs, but also poking holes in the things he believes in.  They have a friendly antagonistic relationship, and both are engaging in a lot of their scenes.  Carell has the more dramatic and less showy role.  He is contemplating the war that has killed his son, as well as the reason why he died, when he discovers how it happened from the young Marine accompanying them.  The movie is set in December 2003, and there are reports on the TV News about Saddam Hussein's capture.  Larry is obviously conflicted about what his son went to war for, and what he ultimately achieved.

Linklater's approach to the story is laid back, but nonetheless powerful.  There are painful memories brought up between the men about their time in the War, and some of the things they did, or the people they lost.  It follows the negotiations and logistics required to transport the coffin to its final resting place with a simple focus on three days in three lives.  As a filmmaker, Linklater has specialized in small, human stories, and he shows his gift by making the men relatable.  These three men are not close, and have not seen each other in decades.  So while there is a definite bond, they also have clearly gone different ways in life.  Larry became the family man, Sal is an outspoken alcoholic, and Richard turned to God.  All of these paths were obviously chosen to get as far away from their pasts as possible.  When they are brought back together, they find themselves sometimes incapable of dealing with each other, as well as their shared past.  In these roles, Carell, Cranston and Fishburne are able to find the aspects that bond their characters, as well as emphasize what keeps them apart.

Last Flag Flying is an assured film.  It's not heavy handed and melodramatic, and it allows the personalities of the three men to grow realistically, and not through plot convenience.  It has a certain small vibe that works for this kind of film.  It's not big or glamorous, and despite the three big names headlining the film, it's not a flashy drama.  It feels like the kind of story that could have come from anyone, and that's probably the highest praise I can pay it.

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