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The Last Castle script review

"Good evening. Lester here with a look at the script for The Castle. The movie will actually be released as The Last Castle though. The script is by David Scarpa with a rewrite by Graham Yost dated August 2000. The movie was directed by Rod Lurie, who was responsible for last year's excellent The Contender. This time out instead of a political thriller he gets an action thriller to play with. Robert Redford stars as General Lee Irwin. Starring opposite him is James Gandolfini as Colonel Winter.

Winter commands the USDB military prison known simply as The Castle. It is home to over 800 former soldiers guilty of serious offenses. Winter is a smart man and regularly plays the prisoners off one another to maintain order. He is much hated by the inmates, who think his methods cruel and occasionally murderous.

Insert into this situation General Irwin. He has a long and distinguished career and is considered a brilliant tactician. Early in his career he spent six years in a Viet Cong POW camp. He was offered a release after four years but refused to leave his men behind. Now he has been found guilty of disobeying orders in Burundi, leading to the death of eight American soldiers in a failed rescue attempt. The Castle is where officers are sent when convicted but has never received an officer higher in rank than a colonel before.

Photo courtesy of Premiere

Winter is highly uncomfortable with having this legendary figure in his prison. He, along with most of the military, feel Irwin should never have been convicted. Unfortunately, the case became public, making it impossible for the case to be quietly dismissed. Now a highly respected and charismatic former general is mixing with his very unhappy prison population. Can't you just feel a big clash coming? If not, you're just not paying attention.

Irwin is actually not interested in stirring up trouble. He was ready to retire before taking one final assignment, the one that lands him jail. The prisoners know who he is and start trying to get him to use his influence to improve conditions. At first Irwin isn't interested but starts to change his mind as he gets to know the men. He begins to feel real sympathy for their loss of honor. Among the men he gets to know are a former Marine with a stutter, a doctor who once served under him and an Air Force pilot. Irwin is known as a master strategist and that becomes evident as the story progresses. What makes the character most interesting is the way he keeps his plans close to the vest, never tipping his hand. Even the men following him are never sure just how far his plans extend. They, Winter and the audience don't really know when Irwin is just going about his business and when he's carrying out an intricate plan to get what he wants. This is so thoroughly carried out that we're never even really sure what Irwin hopes to gain from his plans. Is he trying to get himself out? Is he trying to get rid of Winter? Is he trying to help the inmates regain some honor? We never know until the plan is carried out and that guessing keeps it fascinating.

Photo courtesy
of Entertainment Weekly

Of course we don't really need the intrigue to keep things interesting. This script packs plenty of action in to keep us happy. There are numerous fights to start with and then it escalates into something much bigger. I won't say exactly what because that would ruin the fun. I will say that the script is very nicely written. The story flows well and develops characters nicely. The early scenes do a good job of laying out the Castle for us. When things get hairy later, we already have a solid feel for the prison's geography and the people involved. It builds tension steadily and the nature of Irwin's tactics kept me off balance, trying to guess what he would do next. This is a rare script in that after finishing it I immediately re-read it to check the little bits of foreshadowing and minor details that all factor in later on.

The story works well on multiple levels. There is the big picture which should satisfy action junkies but there is also a nice conflict of wills on a more personal level. Winter and Irwin are like oil and water. Following their initial meeting their relationship turns frosty and quickly heads toward hostile. Irwin is the brilliant field general but in prison he has few resources to draw on. Winter has never been tested in combat but has studied Irwin's tactics in great detail and has considerable military firepower at his disposal, plus of course the Castle itself. While the story certainly works well as a straight action movie, the acrimony between the principle characters adds a personal dimension that makes it all feel so much more real. I found myself surprised at the levels both men were willing to escalate matters to reach their goals.

This was a script that I very much enjoyed. I pray that it reaches the screen intact. The Irwin character is a perfect match for Redford. Winter is a bit of a change of pace for Gandolfini. He could very well break free of almost inevitable typecasting from the Sopranos if he nails it. Mark Ruffalo should also have a real chance to shine as the disgraced pilot Yates. Rod Lurie has shown a nice touch as a director so far, so I'm fairly optimistic that this should be a good and even possibly great film.

(Review submitted by Lester Livermore.)

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Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org

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Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.