In this review, Mick Jordan takes aim at The Last Rifleman.
In 2014 World War II veteran Bernard Jordan (aided and abetted by his wife) snuck out of his care home and onto a ferry to Normandy for the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations. Labelled ‘The Great Escaper,’ he has already been the subject of a film (with that same title). Jordan is also the inspiration for the character of Artie Crawford in The Last Rifleman. Writer Kevin Fitzpatrick and Director Terry Loane make no reference to the real story. Pierce Brosnan plays Artie, a fellow resident in Belfast and a former soldier who was part of the D-Day landings. He lives now in a care home in Belfast with his wife Maggie, played by Stella McCusker. She has dementia and no longer knows who her husband is, referring to him by ‘Charlie.’ This was her first great love and Artie’s best friend. During the war, Charlie and Artie went to Normandy together – but only Artie came back.
When Maggie dies, Artie is utterly distraught. Everyone around him (including his family) regards her death as sad but perfectly natural. But Artie doesn’t see it that way. Maggie’s death at 88 is just as devastating to him as Charlie’s at 20. The overwhelming loss he feels opens old wounds. As a way of coping with his grief, he decides to go to the 75th anniversary commemorations in Normandy. He plans to deliver the last letter Maggie wrote to Charlie’s grave.
At 92 and with “a medication plan so complex, students use it for research.” Artie is dubbed too frail to attend the ceremonies in France. He promptly sneaks himself onto a laundry van – as you do. So begins his very complicated journey from Belfast to Normandy, via Dublin and Holyhead.
The real story of Bernard Jordan’s escape was not quite as dramatic. As a work of fiction The Last Rifleman is free to embellish the story at will. And embellish it does – this is a real road movie with trains, trucks, caravans and boats. Artie meets a variety of very varied characters, all willing to help him get to his destination. A suspension of disbelief is required from the start, but once this is achieved, what ensues is a hugely enjoyable ride.
It is also a deeply moving one, largely due to Pierce Brosnan’s performance. He may require prosthetics to look over 20 years older than his actual age – but he embodies the part just right. His voice, his mannerisms, his gait – all convincingly portray an elderly man. For all his frailty, Artie is still a very proud man but with a great inner sadness driving his mission. Several flashbacks to the 1940s, reveal the powerful bond between the three friends. Now that Artie is the only one remaining this last mission is all-important. And with a lovely plot device we see he is doing it twice, in two different eras.
Filmed on location in Northern Ireland, The Last Rifleman is perfect Saturday evening entertainment, an awfully big adventure with some great moments of suspense (usually when Artie has to deal with someone official). There is a deep well of humour too, gleamed from the rag-tag collection of helpers Artie encounters as well as the often bizarre situations he finds himself in. There is more to this story than the madcap journey, the film itself, is not just about commemorating an event in history, it is about commemorating the people in that history.
The Last Rifleman is available to stream online now.