10 Best Ian Holm Performances
6. Flynn - The Bofors Gun
The Bofors Gun is a film from the '60s, in which Holm plays the supportive officer below David Warner's NCO, Evans. The film depicts Evan's attempts to get through one night in charge of his unit, and the challenge he faces.
Holm's Gunner Flynn is the one who is attempting to keep everything together. Evans is clearly only interested in getting through the night so that he can show he can sufficiently command a unit. That should then give him what he needs to return to undergo officer training again. Fate, however, has a different plan for him.
He is thwarted at each turn by the unstable men in this unit, who correctly see where his interests lie. Holm's Flynn continues to try and support him, offer advice and even goes so far as to question him, despite being a subbordinate. It is to no avail and Evans manages not only to let the men get drunk on duty, but loses one as well.
O'Connell, a troubled man who sees no escape, kills himself with a bayonet to the abdomen. This ruins Evans' chances of ever becoming an officer and was entirely avoidable.
Holm won the BAFTA for best supporting actor for his quiet portrayal of Flynn, doing his best to support the man and instead forced to watch him slide further and further into doom.