200. The Last Full Measure; movie review

THE LAST FULL MEASURE
Cert 15
111 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody war violence, injury detail, language

A tear rolled down my cheek as The Last Full Measure came to its stirring conclusion. I was so enthralled that I was compelled to read up about the true story on which it was based.
That is when things began to unravel.
So, it is true that William H. Pitsenbarger was a Vietnam War hero, saving many men at the cost of his own and that it took more than 30 years for a posthumous award of the Medal Of Honor.
Unfortunately, pretty much everything else about The Last Full Measure is fiction. Even the central character - an ambitious Pentagon official who campaigned for his recognition.
Sebastian Stan plays the initially cynical young official who is given the job of following up the campaign which had been put on the back burner.
Todd Robinson's film follows him as he hears of Pitsenbarger's story through interviews with witnesses who are all damaged in one way or another from their wartime experience.
Among those playing the vets are Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, William Hurt and John Savage - yes, the actor who played the soldier who lost his legs in Deer Hunter.
Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd portray Pitsenbarger's parents, hoping to see him be given America's top medal before his father succumbs to terminal cancer.
Unfortunately, few of those represented actually exist and even if they do, their background tends to be very different.
Such mangling of the facts seems strangely unnecessary, given that Pitsenbarger's feat was as selfless and dramatic as the one highlighted in Hacksaw Ridge.
Indeed, his actual actions are bizarrely underplayed during The Last Full Measure which makes it appear that he helped one wounded soldier on to a helicopter and saved a couple of others on the ground.
Not so. Many more lives were owed to his bravery.
During Robinson's film, there brief flashbacks to the intensity of the battlefield but the concentration is firmly on the campaign. The priorities should have been reversed.
That said, in isolation, the movie grips even though it flits around. However, I thought it was a shame that the true story wasn't told when it would have been even more dramatic.

Reasons to watch: Emotions are stirred
Reasons to avoid: The unnecessary mangling of a true story

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? According to the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States, there have been 3,525 Medals of Honor awarded to 3,506 individuals since the decoration's creation, with over 40% awarded for actions during the American Civil War.

The final word. William Hurt: "I love my fellow Americans and I love the people who go and serve their duty for their country. I have a profound empathy for those who do and making a movie like this is part of that.”

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