Last Flag Flying is a comedic drama directed by Richard Linklater (Everybody Wants Some!!, Boyhood). Linklater co-wrote the screenplay with writer Darryl Ponicson, whose book of the same name the film is based on. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Cicely Tyson, and Yul Vazquez.
In 2003, 30 years after they served together in the Vietnam War, former Navy Corps medic Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carell) re-unites with former Marines Sal (Bryan Cranston) and Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) on a different type of mission: to bury Doc’s son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. Doc decides to forgo a burial at Arlington Cemetery and, with the help of his old buddies, takes the casket on a bittersweet trip up the East Coast to his home in suburban New Hampshire. Along the way, Doc, Sal and Mueller reminisce and come to terms with shared memories of the war that continues to shape their lives.
“I immediately thought, ‘Wow, this is a movie,’” says Linklater, talking about his reaction to reading the novel. “At that point, the war in Iraq was already a disaster and the book said a lot about these echoes of Vietnam in relation to Iraq. That really resonated for me. But mostly it was these three characters, Doc, Sal and Mueller. I loved those guys and wanted to dig into their lives to create a portrait of three middle-aged Vietnam vets.”
Last Flag Flying is rated 14A.
