While 1970s dramatic and genre cinema overindulged the insensitive “psychotic Vietnam vet” trope, there’s still time, if we petition studios or maybe just pray, to head off a slew of “lovable old codger Vietnam vet” movies. “Never Too Late,” an Australian production directed by Mark Lamprell, is a sometimes dire portent of what we might be in for if we don’t do something.
James Cromwell stars as Jack Bronson, a rebellious nursing home resident. Coming out of a physician’s consultation, he runs into his long-lost love, Norma (Jacki Weaver). Are they reunited? No — she’s on her way to a different nursing home. The facility where Jack is bivouacked restricts his movements, and he fears he won’t reunite with Norma, who has dementia, before she loses all memory of him.
As it happens, back in ’Nam, Jack led a band of soldiers — American, Australian and British — called “The Chain Breakers,” on account of their daring escape from captivity at the hands of the Viet Cong. And his brothers in arms just happen to be in the same home as he. Consider the possibilities.
To show they’re not quite the men they used to be, there’s a montage of the characters dealing with the depredations of old age, scored to the umpteenth acoustic cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World.”
Jack gathers his former confreres to concoct their own “great escape” and tick off some items from a bucket list or two — of course. Their escapades feature a lot of foot chases and one truly grotesque plot wrinkle involving one of the home’s Asian employees. While it’s generally a pleasure to see stalwarts like Cromwell, Weaver and Jack Thompson (as one of the old gang) at work, one also wishes they had found, well, better work.
Never Too Late
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. Watch through virtual cinemas.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
