LAST FLAG FLYING

Cert Running time

This film sees three impeccably crafted characters hit the road for a funeral. With honest chemistry, mournful perception and tremendous ability, Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne and Bryan Cranston play three former Vietnam war soldiers who reunite in 2003.

As Carell wrestles with the US government for ownership of his late son’s corpse, his companions squabble for influence over the grieving man’s soul.

A strength of Texan director and writer Richard Linklater is he’s never afraid of making his characters unlikeable at times. Moments of black comedy bring shade to the script’s deep sadness and humanity, and although strongly anti-war and anti-authority, this is a salute to comradeship and finding dignity and honour in the service of others.

This is an unofficial sequel to Hal Ashby’s 1973 drama The Last Detail, which saw Jack Nicholson Oscar-nominated for best actor. And though the names have been changed, it’s interesting to see Cranston’s take on the same role.