(rated R, 120 mins.)
Highly decorated General Irwin (Robert Redford) has been court-martialed after one wrong move in Bosnia and sentenced to a maximum security military prison run by a warden, Colonel Winter (James “Soprano” Gandolfini). While Colonel Winter is initially is in awe of Irwin’s history as an officer, it becomes clearly evident that a power struggle will ensue when the inmates want Irwin for their leader of their prison, the last castle. A castle has four components: protection, garrison, a flag and built to keep people out. This castle/prison is built to keep people in. While the audience won’t be sold on the mild-mannered, gentle Redford as the leader these tough prisoners suddenly want to follow, at the very least their steadfast patriotism in a time when the world is paralleled by war and terrorism is commendable despite being military rejects. If “Brubaker” was about a warden confronting a corrupt system within a prison system, this one is about the supposed bad guy fighting his warden’s orders. Seems the Warden has warped logic thus the reason for Irwin demanding the Warden’s resignation. The inmates do a superb job as reflective characters to Irwin’s lead namely Yates (Mark Ruffalo) an ex apache pilot whose father served under Irwin in Nam who takes bets on anything including Irwin’s life. Redford uses a chess set as a pun on kings, knights and pawns to plan their takeover. Like Rapunzel, Gandolfini spends much of his time safely tucked away like a princess in a turret watching outside the prison windows except he doesn’t have the hair nor his Sopranos for backup.