The Last Rifleman

Only a third of people develop dementia as they age, so why do we treat elderly people like children? That 92-year-old-man whose movements are restricted on his daughter’s orders might have faced down shelling and gunfire in his time. It doesn’t seem to occur to his nurses that he still knows a few tricks. Even though they’ve seen him in a suit, at his wife’s funeral, and even though they’ve noticed that occasional gleam in his eye, they never consider that they’re trying to imprison James Bond.

Artie has a history that is all his own, and he doesn’t consider himself a hero, but he does share an actor with Mr Bond – Pierce Brosnan. The Irish star is only 71 but very effectively captures the physicality of someone significantly older and more fragile. He’s had few roles like this over the course of his career, few that have really given him a depth of character to work with, and he gives his all to it. Occasionally, though, we see a hint of 007-style mischief. Now that he’s a widower, Artie is looking for new meaning in his life. He also wants to find a way of finally coming to terms with the past. The answer seems to lie in Normandy, where he knows that reunions are being held to commemorate the final battles of the Second World War. he might not live for another year, and if he does, he’s likely to get weaker. He has to go now.

There’s a gentle comedy to Artie’s escape which invites viewers too, at some level, to feel protective towards him and perhaps be a little condescending. Brosnan himself, however, plays the character absolutely straight, and in the process helps to restore his dignity. Over time, it become apparent that Artie understands the impression people have of him and, since it’s there, is going to use it. He might be accused to exploitation in so doing – especially when he exposes people to quite serious risks – yet everyone he meets seems to come away a little richer for the experience, and not just financially. In this way he follows in a long line of British and Irish protagonists (he sees himself as both) who enjoy being underestimated and use their charm to outmanoeuvre everyone who tries to stop them.

Now that the war is finally slipping out of living memory, attitudes to it are changing fast. The Last Rifleman ends on a note of military triumphalism, but overall deserves praise for showcasing a variety of points of view, reminding viewers that some soldiers who survived the war preferred not to be reminded of it, whilst others were unsettled by what they saw as the transformation of suffering into jingoistic entertainment.

Artie’s own feelings are complex. He’s baffled by the touristy aspect of D-Day remembrances, yet warmed by the gratitude he finds in ordinary people. An encounter with a German survivor tests his capacity for forgiveness. Elsewhere he meets a woman who was on the opposite side from him in the Irish War of Independence, and they have an open, friendly conversation. He doesn’t like to be seen as a hero, partly due to survivor’s guilt but also because what he remembers in simply being part of a group of scared kids. Can he recognise that the people he was fighting were scared kids too?

With another aspect to Artie’s burden which is hinted at very early on and complicates the process of emotional release, the film works hard to remind us that the war was not something separate from day to day life, but wove its way into everything else. Interestingly, it eschews the use of drab colour filters to let us know when we’re witnessing flashbacks to the conflict. These are obvious enough, and the fact that they take place in bright sunlight makes them much more visibly a part of the real world. They are horrific, but not an unimaginable horror, and not something that has lost its relevance.

Rounding out the film is the first rate casting of small roles, which helps to place Archie’s story within a wider social framework. There’s a quiet celebration of how society has advanced, stronger because it doesn’t suggest that everything is perfect. There’s also some cracking dialogue, injecting the humour necessary to balance the bleakness and the occasional tendency towards sentimentality. If you’re looking for something to watch with your family this Remembrance Sunday, The Last Rifleman hits the mark.