Directed by:
Gregor JordanCinematography:
Oliver StapletonComposer:
David HolmesCast:
Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Gabriel Mann, Leon, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Michael Peña, Glenn Fitzgerald, Dean Stockwell, Elizabeth McGovern (more)Plots(1)
Black comedy set in West Germany during the final days of the Berlin Wall in 1989. American soldier Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) takes advantage of his relationship with trusting Colonel Berman (Ed Harris) to steal army supplies and maintain a profitable side-line selling heroin to the local police force. However, when a new sergeant arrives, Robert E. Lee (Scott Glenn), who is less gullible Elwood finds his operation coming under threat. Meanwhile, Elwood sets out to punish the authoritarian Lee by beginning a relationship with his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin). (4DVD)
(more)Reviews (2)
Quite a decent anti-war film, which criticizes the conditions in the American army with unprecedented insight. Out of the whole plot mishmash, I was mostly intrigued by the more romantic storyline, where the main character, portrayed by the consistently excellent Joaquin Phoenix, pursues the daughter of his boss, with whom he doesn't get along very well. He decides to seek sweet revenge, which slightly gets out of hand when he quickly realizes that he has feelings for her. (75%)
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Few people probably realize that some motifs in the film were based on real events. In the late 80s, the crew of an American tank actually went crazy to the point where they recklessly drove through a terrified West German town and demolished everything in their path. It took a lot of work for the American military leadership to cover up this scandal. The film's effort, decent cast, and certain provocation cannot be denied. However, the script is an uncomfortable mishmash, and, above all, it is not very accurate and convincing in revealing the essence of corruption. I do not doubt that there is corruption and embezzlement in the American military, as well as in many other armies around the world. But I feel that in everyday life, an ordinary non-commissioned officer would hardly triumph. Major corruption and embezzlement usually fall under the domain of big fish, and small fish are the easiest to catch. I would rather believe in successfully covered theft by a colonel than in this far-fetched story. If the screenwriter and director hadn't pushed for effect so much and stayed focused on small thefts and depicting the pervasive sloppy work, the film could have had a much more targeted message, and I would have had a better impression of it. As it is, it only gets an overall impression of 45%, which is unquestionably less than I expected from the film.
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