1 hour 56 minutes, USA 1996
Director: Edward Zwick; Producers: John Davis, David T. Friendly and Joseph Singer; Screenplay: Patrick Sheane Duncan; Photography: Roger Deakins; Production Design: John Graysmark; Editing: Steven Rosenblum; Music: James Horner.
Stars: Denzel Washington (Lt. Col. Nathan Serling), Meg Ryan (Captain Karen Walden), Lou Diamond Phillips (Monfriez), Michael Moriarty (General Hershberg), Matt Damon (Ilario), Bronson Pinchot (Bruno), Seth Gilliam (Altameyer), Regina Taylor (Meredith Serling), Zeljko Ivanek (Banacek), Scott Glenn (Tony Gartner).
This film, directed by Edward Zwick, is the first mainstream Hollywood film to deal with the subject of Desert Storm or, as we called it over here, the Gulf War (the only other being The One That Got Away, a British TV movie starring Paul McGann). Denzel Washington plays Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling, the commander of a tank battalion who inadvertently destroys one of his own tanks whilst on a sortie into Iraqi territory. Racked with guilt upon the War's end, Serling is effectively demoted and the 'friendly fire' incident is quietly swept under the carpet. Serling finds himself becoming an alcoholic, and also senses that his marriage is beginning to fall apart. In an attempt to regain some semblance of self esteem and purpose, Serling appeals to his superior, General Hershberg, who assigns him to investigate the case surrounding the death of Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), a helicopter pilot killed in action, and who is about to become the first woman in history to be nominated for the medal of honour. However, the deeper Serling digs, the more unclear the facts about Walden's death become. Seeing this as a chance to redeem himself in his own eyes, Serling vows to uncover the truth, even if this means questioning the true meaning of courage.
There is something that goes on between Edward Zwick and Denzel Washington, in which the former allows the latter to act out of his skin. In their previous collaboration, Glory, Washington earned an Oscar for his role as a member of the first all-black regimental platoon during the American Civil War. And it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he won another one, because his portrayal of a man so torn by guilt and obsessed with redemption is perfection. Washington's character is almost an echo of Jodie Foster's in The Silence of the Lambs, feeling that if he cracks the case and finds the truth about Captain Walden, it will take away the guilt and sorrow he feels about his own previous actions. Watching an interview between CNN reporter Larry King and actor Tom Hanks, my attention was drawn to a scene where Washington wakes up from a nightmare. Hanks was saying that the 'waking up from a nightmare' scene is one of the most difficult things to act, and that the way in which Washington did it "blew me away, the sheer power and emotion of it". And therein lies Washington's best quality - he makes the most common and normal things so believable, that you almost forget that he is acting. Meg Ryan, equally, is very good in a part completely removed from her 'ditzy blonde' roles in films like When Harry Met Sally... and French Kiss. Here, Ryan is tough, intelligent, makes quick decisions, and has much more sense and intelligence than she has ever been allowed to show on screen before. Although her role is shown entirely in flashback, hers is the pivotal one and, in a way, the most difficult to portray convincingly. This is because writer Patrick Sheane Duncan's script relies upon the nuances of Ryan's performance to tell his story: the different ways in which the survivors of the incident interpret her actions are the basis on which Washington makes his decision as to Ryan's medal, and it is not until the final scene that we find the truth about what really happened. It is a damning indictment of war that Duncan puts over - in which the lines between courage and cowardice can become blurred by a simple difference of opinion, and where good men become tortured souls after heat of the moment decisions prove terribly wrong.
The supporting cast are good, especially Lou Diamond Phillips and Matt Damon as the survivors of Walden's ill-fated mission and, as usual, the behind the scenes crew are excellent, with special mention going to my personal favourite movie composer James Horner, for his stirring musical score; Roger Deakins for his intelligent and imaginative cinematography; and Alan Munro and his crew for the superior visual effects which, although they are for the most part unnoticeable, add a touch of authenticity to the battle sequences.
A film review by Jonathan Broxton 1996