A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Last Rifleman” (2023).
Having watched “The Great Escaper” and “The Miracle Club” on successive days, both about old folks trying to get to France, I thought I’d complete the trilogy with “The Last Rifleman” – yes, also about a WW2 veteran trying to get to France!
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Artie Crawford (Pierce Brosnan) is a WW2 veteren living in a nursing home in Northern Ireland. Despite being 92 (and three-quarters) and with significant health support requirements, he decides to travel to Normandy for the 75th anniversary celebrations of D-Day.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: NR; (This is not rated by the BBFC, but has been rated a ’15’ by Sky. This strikes me as a bit excessive, and I would have thought a ’12’ would be more appropriate).
Talent:
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Cleménce Poésy, Samuel Bottomley, Desmond Eastwood.
Directed by: Terry Loane.
Written by: Kevin Fitzpatrick.
Twitter Handle: #TheLastRifleman.
Running Time: 1h 35m.
Pierce Brosnan (70) trying to be a 92 3/4 year old. (Source: Ingenious Media).
“The Last Rifleman” Review:
Positives:
- It’s a real mystery how and why the two films – “The Great Escaper” and “The Last Rifleman” – were developed and released in parallel. Since both are based on the same true story – that of Bernard Jordan. I can only guess that the two scriptwriters – William Ivory and Kevin Fitzpatrick respetively – were drawn to the same news articles and thought it would make a great film. But at what point in the whole process did the two rival organisations become aware of each other? It’s a potential film script in its own right! Thankfully, “The Last Rifleman” takes a ‘looser’ take on the story (the main character isn’t even called Bernard here). ‘Escaper’ focused largely on the relationship between Bernard (Michael Caine) and Irene (Glenda Jackson) waiting for him at home, but also contains a couple of sub-plots: one about a struggling recent army veteran (Victor Oshin); the other about a struggling old comrade (John Standing). Bernard’s ‘journey’ was made light of… he gets on a bus; he gets on a ferry; job done! In “The Last Rifleman”, the whole film is really the trials and tribulations of the ailing Artie in getting to France and the people he meets along the way. This difference makes this film a perfectly enjoyable watch alongside the other film.
- Brosnan is a personable star (albeit with my reservations below) and he is well-supported here by Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour of course from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and Samuel Bottomley as a young lad who he befriends on the way. (This provides an excellent excuse to add some Ennio Morricone to the soundtrack, which is always good!).
- Artie’s backstory is rolled back through flashbacks as the film progresses and I found this quite sweet and touching.
Negatives:
- Pierce Brosnan is 70 years old and, for all the make-up artists in the world, he doesn’t appear or act anything like the age of 92. Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson were so good in their roles because they actually were about that age! It would have been more realistic if they has made Artie 75 years old, albeit still with all of his medical issues which could have been made more of, and made him attend the 60th anniversary in 2004.
- Tony McCann (Desmond Eastwood), the journalist trying to get a scoop on the story is poorly written and just comes across as shrill and annoying. In general, some of the mini-stories around the main narrative (including one about Juliette’s ‘issues’) come across as a bit half-baked and superfluous. They don’t seem to ‘go’ anywhere and just add window-dressing.
Clémence Poésy as Juliette – a helping hand on a ferry. (Source: Ingenious Media)
Summary Thoughts on “The Last Rifleman”
A ‘nice’ watch that I don’t think many people will find objectionable in any way. It suffers though in comparison with the superior “The Great Escaper” in most departments. But it is in no way a bust and is worth a watch, even if you have already see the other film.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “The Last Rifleman”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upuLjGMvyrU .
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