A military prison may be one like none other. In a military prison the inmate population has some history of order and discipline which can be a good thing for the guy who's in charge. But if a charismatic leader gets assigned in the prison population it could be a disaster.
Which is what happens in The Last Castle. Prison commandant Colonel James Gandolfini gets a real special prisoner in his charge, a former three star Lieutenant General Robert Redford. This guy was courtmartialed for disobeying an order in a combat situation and got several men killed as a result of it. Still he commands a lot of respect including Gandolfini who'd like to cultivate the guy.
But Redford sees him only as a jailer and no one who's seen any real soldiering. His view of him as a jailer plummets markedly downward over several incidents of downright cruelty he witnesses.
Redford's career may be gone to hell, but he can still do something about what he sees around him. The Last Castle becomes a battle of wits and nerve between the general and his jailer as to who will control the prison.
Gandolfini, most famous for playing Tony Soprano in the cable TV series, The Sopranos runs the prison just about the way you would expect gangland boss Tony Soprano to run it. He's a petty and vindictive little tyrant, a military version of Hume Cronyn's Captain Munsey from Brute Force.
Redford is as noble as ever, it's hard to imagine him as a bad guy, even in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Redford's the upright one of the duo. Gandolfini and Redford get good support from a nearly all male cast (don't read anything into that even though this is a prison picture). Pay particular attention to Mark Ruffalo as a skeptical prisoner, Clifton Collins, Jr. whose fate prompts Redford and the rest of the prisoners to action, and Steve Burton as Gandolfini's second in command.
Sometimes events have a way of thrusting themselves on people and that's what happens to Redford in The Last Castle. See the film and you'll see what I mean.
Which is what happens in The Last Castle. Prison commandant Colonel James Gandolfini gets a real special prisoner in his charge, a former three star Lieutenant General Robert Redford. This guy was courtmartialed for disobeying an order in a combat situation and got several men killed as a result of it. Still he commands a lot of respect including Gandolfini who'd like to cultivate the guy.
But Redford sees him only as a jailer and no one who's seen any real soldiering. His view of him as a jailer plummets markedly downward over several incidents of downright cruelty he witnesses.
Redford's career may be gone to hell, but he can still do something about what he sees around him. The Last Castle becomes a battle of wits and nerve between the general and his jailer as to who will control the prison.
Gandolfini, most famous for playing Tony Soprano in the cable TV series, The Sopranos runs the prison just about the way you would expect gangland boss Tony Soprano to run it. He's a petty and vindictive little tyrant, a military version of Hume Cronyn's Captain Munsey from Brute Force.
Redford is as noble as ever, it's hard to imagine him as a bad guy, even in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Redford's the upright one of the duo. Gandolfini and Redford get good support from a nearly all male cast (don't read anything into that even though this is a prison picture). Pay particular attention to Mark Ruffalo as a skeptical prisoner, Clifton Collins, Jr. whose fate prompts Redford and the rest of the prisoners to action, and Steve Burton as Gandolfini's second in command.
Sometimes events have a way of thrusting themselves on people and that's what happens to Redford in The Last Castle. See the film and you'll see what I mean.