by Frank Calvillo
Box Office Alternative Column
Box Office Alternative is a weekly look into additional/optional choices to the big-budget spectacle opening up at your local movie theater every Friday. Oftentimes, titles will consist of little-known or underappreciated work from the same actor/writer/director/producer of said new release, while at other times, the selection for the week just happens to touch upon the same subject in a unique way. Above all, this is a place to revisit and/or discover forgotten cinematic gems of all kinds.
Well, Suicide Squad, the last big title of the summer, has come out, and as expected the film has been one of the most polarizing titles of the year. Its tough to recall another film which has been subject to so much scrutiny as this one from fanboys and critics alike. However, no aspect of the film has received more attention than Jared Leto’s turn as The Joker. Most agree that the actor injects the same intense devotion he brings to every role and succeeds in his characterization of the iconic character with a tour-de-force performance.
Leto’s work in Suicide Squad is another reminder of how much of a committed actor he is, evidenced by his work in virtually every role he takes on, including the sweet mid-90s coming-of-age comedy The Last of the High Kings.
Set in the Irish countryside in the mid-to-late ’70s, The Last of the High Kings stars Leto as Frankie, the eldest of five children belonging to Cathleen (Catherine O’Hara), a political activist, and Jack (Gabriel Byrne), a stage actor. Opening right after Frankie’s final exams have taken place, the film follows the teenager as he deals with his unpredictable family and tries to figure out what it is he wants from his future.
The greatest strength throughout the film without question remains it’s ability to tell it’s own story so seeped in a specific time and place, which also remains incredibly universal. Nowhere is this more true that in the depiction of Frankie’s family. The Last of the High Kings does a good job of painting an eccentric portrait of a family, reinforcing the notion that everyone’s family life needs explaining and that they are destined to feel like the odd one out. With an actor father, an activist mother, and a brother who speaks in American accents, imimitating notable figures such as Jimmy Carter and John Wayne, Frankie has eternally felt like the one sane member of his loving, but eccentric clan. One scene which typifies the kind of home Frankie must contend with occurs early on when Cathleen berates a next door neighbor who scolded one of her children for walking atop the stone wall that divides their homes. Angry that her child should be yelled at for walking on a wall built by her family, Cathleen jumps on said wall and begins to walk it, instructing her children to do the same.
The film is full of great moments which don’t advance the threadbare plot, but rather add to the overall portrait of young man’s summer right out of high school. A scene featuring a visiting friend of the family from America named Erin (Christina Ricci) in which she tells Frankie to say what he means — which is that he doesn’t share the same feelings of attraction she does for him — is beautiful and real. Another sequence in which Frankie and his younger brother collect every remaining drop of alcohol in the house and serve it a victory party following a successful election is hilarious, especially due to the various Irish politicians falling down drunk throughout the house. Another uproarious moment happens in the scene when Cathleen calls the local Catholic priest to come talk with Frankie when she finds out he’s slept with a local Protestant girl. The scene is made even more laughable when Frankie sincerely proclaims to him, “I’ve been possessed by little Protestant bitches begging for me to violate the holy tabernacle of their bodies!” The Last of the High Kings is definitely a slice-of-life film that’s absent of plot, choosing instead to be about the moments that make up that last days of youth before adulthood begins to creep in.
Leto is so fantastic as the lead, making Frankie’s vulnerability and conflict shine through. He’s the perfect actor to guide this character through such a specific journey, mainly due to the way he is able to express that natural curiosity which comes at that young age. Meanwhile, Cathleen proves to be one of O’Hara’s most fiery roles and allows her the freedom to be both strong and outrageous. Any fan of hers unfamiliar with the film will delight in seeing the actress bring her unique energy to another colorful role. Finally, although he only appears in a handful of scenes, Byrne has never been more fun and sensitive as he is as Frankie’s wise father.
Sadly, The Last of the High Kings went almost totally unnoticed during its small late winter run in 1996, where it failed to make any kind of mark. The same went for the film’s home video release, at which point it was re-titled Summer Fling. Ultimately, neither time nor Leto’s surge in notoriety have helped push the film into the spotlight.
I suppose in some ways, The Last of the High Kings was never destined to be a film which was going to win any major awards or become a revisited classic. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t much to much to embrace here, especially the unique blending of magic and heart throughout that most films of this nature never capture. Everyone has memories of that summer after high school was over, the moments that stayed and the endless wonder of what lay ahead. In some ways, this is a film about the fear of what comes next, specifically what is supposed to come next, and learning to embrace it all. “I still want to see the world,” Frankie says at the close of the film, to which his father replies, “The world’s waiting for you, Frankie.”
