Product: George C. Scott: The Last Days of Patton (1986)
Rating: 3.0
Patton lucky to have George C. Scott play him!
Interesting sequel to the movie Patton, but this is not a war film, it is a drama. Patton wrestles with how to handle post-war Bavaria: Should he exclude Nazis from the new government, or should he include them to speed rebuilding? Should he allow SS members to continue to train in the prison camps? He clashes with Ike, and frets over not having men to lead in battle.Life after the German surrender was nothing but worsening problems for the general, what with his chafing at running a bureaucracy, his stripping of authority by Ike, and finally on the day before he was to ship home, getting into a freak accident that broke his neck and paralyzed him.I'm not sure some of the critics of this film appreciate how well Scott does with a tremendous challenge of depicting a physically dead man from the neck down, a man who once moved armies in one of the most important times in modern history, now bedridden and suspecting he faces death despite his doctors' forced cheer. It is touching to see his wife scramble to his side to comfort him and read him books, and disconcerting to know that her niece appears to be having an illicit affair with her own uncle-by-marriage.This is a dark film, as it watches Patton's wife struggle with her husband's rather brave acceptance that he is transitioning towards death, and find bravery within herself as well.Finally, as my husband observes, the best thing that happened to Patton was having George C. Scott play him on film -- talk about a posthumous career boost!