“Last Flag Flying”, a comedy-drama about Vietnam war veterans, will resonate with Trump’s America, despite, or perhaps because of, its period setting, actor Bryan Cranston said on Sunday after a screening at the London Film Festival.
LONDON (Reuters) – &ldquo-Last Flag Flying&rdquo-, a comedy-drama about Vietnam war veterans, will resonate with Trump&rsquo-s America, despite, or perhaps because of, its period setting, actor Bryan Cranston said on Sunday after a screening at the London Film Festival.
Set in the United States in December 2003 – when U.S. forces in Iraq were dragging Saddam Hussein out of a &ldquo-spider hole&rdquo- – it is the story of three ageing former servicemen who reunite to bury the son of one of them who has been killed in action.
With President Donald Trump saying he could &ldquo-totally destroy&rdquo- North Korea and characterizing a dinner with military commanders as &ldquo-the calm before the storm&rdquo-, Cranston said &ldquo-Last Flag Flying&rdquo- was a timely reminder of the effect on normal Americans of ill-advised military campaigns.
&ldquo-I think it has a lot of relevance today in the sense that (today) it&rsquo-s not clear cut as far as the (what are the) intentions of the government or military,&rdquo- Cranston, acclaimed for his lead role in the TV drama &ldquo-Breaking Bad&rdquo-, told Reuters.
&ldquo-In World War Two, it was the &lsquo-good war&rsquo-, it was clear and present danger, we had to stop this mad man. Since then, with Vietnam and Iraq, (there are) a lot of questions … among the troops and the citizens as to if we are doing the right thing and what is the purpose of our being there.&rdquo-
&ldquo-Last Flag Flying&rdquo- was produced by Amazon Studios and directed and co-written by Richard Linklater, whose greatest critical acclaim has been for the naturalistic &ldquo-Before Sunset&rdquo- trilogy and the 2014 &ldquo-Boyhood&rdquo- which won a slew of Oscar nominations.
Linklater also made comedies including &ldquo-School of Rock&rdquo- and &ldquo-Everybody Wants Some!!&rdquo-, about skirt-chasing undergraduates. &ldquo-Last Flag Flying&rdquo- falls somewhere between the two genres.
The drama and comedy stem from the chemistry between the three leads, each played by a big Hollywood name.
Steve Carell is the awkward shy one who, we assume, was quiet and withdrawn even before the loss of his son. Cranston plays a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking bar owner who is his own best customer, and Laurence Fishburne, is a man who has found God and become an evangelical preacher, preferring to forget the sex and drugs they all indulged in back in &lsquo-Nam.
Vanity Fair&rsquo-s Richard Lawson said the film&rsquo-s ability to honor the footsoldiers while being critical of the wars they are sent to fight, could hit &ldquo-an Academy sweet spot, satisfying both the more conservative oldsters and the younger, leftier types.&rdquo-
Other critics said &ldquo-Last Flag Flying&rdquo- lacked the light touch of Linklater&rsquo-s best work. The Guardian&rsquo-s Benjamin Lee called it &ldquo-a half-baked TV movie masquerading as Oscarbait, a curious misstep for the Oscar-nominated indie auteur&rdquo-.