Oct. 24, 2001 – The Sundance Kid meets Tony Soprano in "The Last Castle," a prison drama which The New York Times says couldn't have come at a better time as a "flag-waving paean to patriotism."
Three-star general Irwin (Robert Redford) is sent to the Castle, a maximum-security military prison, on court martial charges that are not immediately made clear. There, he encounters Col. Winter (James Gandolfini), a classical music lover and, up to the moment they meet, a fan of the famous Gen. Irwin. Their initial encounter etablishes the contest of wills that will be the center of the drama.
The Times calls the movie "exuberant, strapping and obvious — a problem drama suffering from a steroid overdose."
Redford, no stranger to prison movies, starred in "Brubaker," a prison-reform social drama that allowed him a shot at shaking up the penal system. As Irwin, his interest lays elsewhere. Determined to bring down Winter, the general makes it his duty to win the devotion of his prison troops, instilling in them renewed pride and good posture.
Winter has set the men the task of building a castle within the Castle, a project which Irwin thwarts in time, two hours to be exact. "Sopranos" fans will see a new side of Gandolfini, a man fighting an uphill battle to maintain his control.
And Redford? Well, Redford is Redford, becoming somewhat more than mortal as the show goes on. Maybe if he did a little horseback romp to the tune of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," things might lighten up a little. But this movie was directed by Rod Lurie, ("The Contender," about Washington politics, and "Deterrence," about nuclear war), not Mel Brooks.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
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