Amazon Studios and Lionsgate have released the first trailer for Oscar-nominatedBoyhoodfilmmakerRichard Linklater’s new filmLast Flag Flying. Based on the novel of the same name byDarryl Poniscan, the film takes place in 2003 and follows three Vietnam War veterans played byBryan Cranston,Steve Carell, andLaurence Fishburnewho reunite under unfortunate circumstances. The son of Carell’s character has just been killed serving in the Iraq War, and instead of burying him at Arlington Cemetery, he enlists his veteran buddies to help bring the casket up the east coast to suburban New Hampshire.
This particular subject matter looks to be an excellent showcase for Linklater’s knack for character and humanity, as the trailer teases incredibly strong performances from all three leading men. The story itself feels quite timely, and it’ll be interesting to see how the film is received by audiences. With Linklater behind the camera and serving as co-writer alongside Poniscan, we can be certain the characters and story are being treated with the utmost respect, and again it really feels like Linklater’s sensibilities are perfectly tuned to this sort of emotional road trip movie with a political twist.
Check out theLast Flag Flyingtrailer below. The film also starsYul VazquezandCicely Tysonand will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 28th before opening in select theaters on November 3rd.
Here’s the official synopsis forLast Flag Flying:
In 2003, 30 years after they served together in the Vietnam War, former Navy Corps medic Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carell) re-unites with ex-Marine Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and Reverend 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 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. Amazon Studios presents, a Detour film production, a Zenzero Pictures/Cinetic Media production, a Richard Linklater film.
