Artie (Pierce Brosnan) is a 92-year-old man living in a senior care center, trying to remain attentive to his wife, Maggie (Stella McCusker), who’s fighting dementia. When Maggie passes away, Artie faces a host of memories, including time with his wife and Charlie, a dear friend from long ago. Discovering special letters in Maggie’s belongings, Artie decides to participate in an upcoming D-Day memorial service, requiring some quick thinking to get past the staff. Now out in the open world, Artie has to find his way to France, embarking on a series of travel adventures where he meets various people looking to help the military veteran reach his final destination. Juliette (Clemence Posey) is part of this support chain, as the French mother is also dealing with troubles, responding to the older man’s quest to confront his past.
Artie can’t escape the horrors of war. It invades his dreams, returning to a time of confusion and tremendous fear in the British Army, surrounded by elements of violence as a new soldier. He’s no longer a young man, snapped back to his reality as a senior citizen facing an extensive list of medical needs, including management of his diabetes. Artie tries to be there for Maggie, comforting his wife of 68 years, but she remains in a fog, calling for Charlie when her husband hopes to reach some part of her mind. Maggie’s death inspires Artie’s actions in The Last Rifleman, left on his own to face issues rooted in his past, using the D-Day gathering to confront mistakes that aren’t immediately understood in the screenplay by Kevin Fitzpatrick. In fact, it takes a long time to reach a confrontation, with most of The Last Rifleman devoted to the journey to Normandy.
Travel isn’t easy for Artie, who’s frail but determined to reach his destination. Setbacks are common, as the character manages time on a train, a bus, and a truck, gradually making his way into France. The Last Rifleman details interactions along the way, including a young man who bonds with Artie over a shared love for composer Ennio Morricone. A truck driver is attentive to Artie’s diabetic behavior, and a longer stretch of screen time is devoted to Juliette, a Frenchwoman traveling home with her children. She helps Artie get past an expired passport and enter France, and the pair use their day together for confessional purposes, as the mother is processing medical issues. The Last Rifleman also explores life at the senior care center, where resident Tom (Ian McElhinney) contacts journalist Tony (Desmond Eastwood), informing the writer about Artie’s amazing mission, which soon becomes news across the country.
The Great Escaper was interested in comedic experiences. The Last Rifleman remains a softer, melancholy film, following Artie as he gets closer to the source of his anguish, also meeting an American soldier (the late John Amos, in his final role) who puts their shared service into perspective. There are more encounters to come for Artie, who eventually hitches a ride alongside ex-Nazis also trying to find sense in the war, making the philosophical line, living with ghosts, the dominant mood of the picture. The feature isn’t a tear-jerker, but something deeper when handling the true costs of combat and the stain of horrible mistakes. Brosnan gives a fine performance to help director Terry Loane, playing the strain of aging and the slow leak of communication as Artie starts to discuss his past with others. It’s the best work he’s done in some time, getting The Last Rifleman to a place of mournful reflection befitting an unusual (and partially true) story of closure. [Orndorfer's rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars]
Labels: drama, war, WWII
IMDb 66/100
MetaScore (critics=tbd, viewers=tbd)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=62, viewers=86)
Brian Orndorfer review
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