The Last Samurai

3.5/4

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Shin Koyamada, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly

Rated R for Strong Violence and Battle Sequences

In some ways, a formula picture is not a bad thing.  Through many tries, tweaks and readjustments, formulas have formed through the ways we process stories.  Although there is something to be said for having an unpredictable storyline, a person can say the same thing about the safety of a formula.  Provided, of course, it’s well told, and the other intangibles (acting, dialogue, visual sense, etc) are top-notch.  In the case of “The Last Samurai,” they are.

Captain Nathan Algren (Cruise) is a battle-hardened soldier who’s been through enough violence and death to last a lifetime.  As a result of a massacre in which he took part under orders from his superior officer, Bagley (played by veteran slimeball Tony Goldwyn), he has been washing away the pain with alcohol.  A new opportunity for him arises from, of all people, Bagley.  Japan is undergoing a massive modernization, much to the dismay of the samurai, who think the country is changing too fast.  The travelling diplomat, Omura (Harada), is willing to pay him a lot of money to travel to Japan to train soldiers in modern warfare.  Algren agrees, because the money will buy him a lot more booze than his old job did (he was recently fired), and there’s a chance he may have the opportunity to settle the score with Bagley.

While there, Algren is captured in a battle with the samurai, and is taken back to the village of the rebellion’s leader, Katsumoto (Watanabe).  Instead of killing him, Katsumoto is curious about this foreigner, and is eager to learn about the West.  Algren isn’t talking, but eventually he is seduced by the new and disciplined culture.  It doesn’t take long for the way of the samurai to win him over, and for his alliance to change sides.

This isn’t a new or original story.  It’s been told many times before (“Avatar,” “Dances with Wolves,” just to name a few).  What makes this film unique is director Edward Zwick’s attention to character and detail.  We understand both Algren and Katsumoto.  Algren is a rebel without a cause; lonely, embittered and traumatized, life means nothing to him anymore.  The way of the samurai has honor, discipline and oddly, peace.  It gives him something to believe in.  For Katsumoto, this is not about violence or power, it’s about honor.  He, and his ancestors before him, have given their lives to the Emperor.  It has worked for millennium, and he’s not going to be thrown away by some heartless diplomat like Omura.  If the Emperor decides that the time of the Samurai is over, then he’ll do the honorable thing and kill himself.

The battle between the old and the new is never easy, and “The Last Samurai” never pretends that it is.  In his voiceover narration, Algren tells us that the word “samurai” means “to serve.”  Both Katsumoto and Omura are serving the Emperor, but in different ways.  Omura looks to the future because he wants to compete with the West; to hell with the past, it’s outdated.  Katsumoto clings to the past, because it has defined his life and the lives of its people.  And the fact that it has worked for a thousand years means that they must have been doing something right.  The problem is that neither Omura or Katsumomo are willing to negotiate, and the Emperor (Shichinosuke Nakamura) is too young and weak to successfully find a peaceful resolution.  Through Algren, we are given looks at both sides, though because of the decisions he makes, he does pick a side (there wouldn’t be a movie otherwise).

None of this would be worth the celluloid it’s printed on if the actors weren’t able to capture the nuances of their characters.  Tom Cruise is arguably one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history, and although his personal life is the subject of much controversy and mockery, there is one thing that everyone can agree on: he’s a gifted actor.  Cruise breathes life into a well-developed, if familiar, character.  He provides an emotional anchor for the audience while still developing an individual personality.  It takes a skilled actor to do both, and Cruise accomplishes it aplomb.  This is definitely one of his best performances, if not the best.

As good as Cruise is, he’s outshone at every turn by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.  Watanabe is famous in Japan for playing samurai, but this was his first American movie (for which he was rightfully nominated for an Oscar).  Katsumomo is an intelligent man, and he is skilled at reading people.  From just looking at Algren he immediately understands two things: his new captive is not a happy (or healthy) person, and his intelligence can be an asset to both his strategy and his intellect.  Although frosty at first, their relationship grows towards respect and deep friendship.

The supporting performances do more than to add color to the proceedings.  Tony Goldwyn was once the go-to guy to play an utterly ruthless (yet polite) villain, and for good reason.  Goldwyn is easy to hate, playing Bagley with malice and a massive ego.  Masato Harada, who to my surprise is primarily a film director, is very good as Omura.  Omura’s zeal to compete and modernize has caused him to completely lose sight of his cultural identity.  Shin Koyamada is also quite good as the first samurai who warms up to Nathan (he is also the sources of the film’s slight comic relief).  Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall do solid work in small supporting roles.

Edward Zwick has always been a superior storyteller, able to weave complex themes and ideas into easily accessible storylines.  Take his next film, “Blood Diamond,” which was more or less a straightforward adventure with a fascinating cultural and political subtext that he made more than mere window dressing.  Although the film relies a little too much on clichés in the first ten minutes or so, and there’s a scene where characters use swords when it really doesn’t make sense for them to do so, this is in many ways a more impressive feature because it’s so ambitious.  With so much at stake, it’s not surprising that epics like this don’t come around that often.  Zwick is skilled enough to make us want more.