Sean Penn’s first directorial effort since 2016’s “The Last Face” compensates for that misstep, if only just, with a sweet and rather straightforward father-daughter drama that lays out most of its emotional cards from the first act and offers few surprises along the way.
Initially drawn to her divorced dad’s seat-of-the-pants lifestyle before learning the details of crimes, Vogel found herself caught between affection for her father’s fragile existence and the desire to eke out her own path, as she faced a number of her own rough struggles on the way to young adulthood.
But the central dynamic holds plenty of appeal as Jennifer continues to chip away at the paradoxes of her father’s life, and why she couldn’t shake his advances even when it was the most obvious thing to do.
Like Robert Redford’s perennial bank robber in “The Old Man & the Gun,” John’s romantic obsession with breaking the law runs counter to his constant desire to adhere to social norms for the sake of a better life.
Ultimately, “Flag Day” focuses on that journey, and settles into a meditative look at one woman’s attempt to develop her identity on her own terms. Despite the strange mopey detour of “The Last Face,” Penn has been a sturdy filmmaker for decades, and “Flag Day” brings him back to the subtler soul-searching he last explored with “Into the Wild.” The new movie even echoes some of the musical montages of “Wild,” and both find young adults risking homelessness in their attempt to mine a fresh start from scratch.
In her first major lead role, Dylan Penn delivers a hard-edged performance steeped in a blend of frustration and simmering rage that eventually gives way to confidence as her character grows up.
But “Flag Day” never veers too far from Jennifer’s reflective mood, and the complex process through which she comes to see her father as a microcosm of a larger problem.
Instead, “Flag Day” maintains its modest trajectory from start to finish, ending with a rather abrupt twist that makes it clear Jennifer will never be truly free from her father’s shadow.