Saving Private Ryan (1998) Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina. Written by Robert Rodat. Directed by Steven Spielberg. 168 minutes. Rated R, 5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send your subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
After a brief prologue, "Saving Private Ryan" goes straight into the battle scene to end all battle scenes, a 24 minute recreation of the D- Day landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. The images are absolutely brutal, showing in explicit detail the massacre of countless soldiers as the Allied Forces storm the beach. "What the hell do we do now sir?" shouts one private, while others strip ammunition and weapons off dying comrades. One soldier scoops his severed arm off the sand, staggering on in a desperate attempt to keep up with his squad. As young bodies explode from enemy fire, the Allied Forces still somehow sweep forward, through the noise, confusion, and death all around them. Watching the unspeakable carnage, you wonder how any of the soldiers could possibly have survived the battle, let alone triumphed.
That's just the beginning of one of the most powerful, visceral war movies ever made. Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is an experience that left me shaken and deeply moved. Even though the screen is filled with the faces of familiar actors, Spielberg makes it seem real, thrusting the viewer right into the center of the nightmarish action. Hand-held cameras create a quasi-documentary feel. Occasionally the sound fades out and the action shifts into slow motion, giving you the eerie sense of sharing the experience of a soldier in shock. The film is remarkably effective at creating a horrific "you-are-there" feel.
The brilliant "Apocalypse Now" used war as a vehicle for a surreal journey into the depths of insanity. The battlefields of "Platoon" served as the landscape for a morality play, with the forces of good and evil vying for the soul of a young soldier. "Saving Private Ryan" is about war, period. The film stays focused on what war does to the body and soul, as the men fight to stay alive, to accomplish their mission, and to somehow retain their humanity during a situation that screams for them to just be animals.
Only after the staggering extended battle sequence does Spielberg introduce you to the characters and story. Still reeling from Omaha Beach, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is given another assignment. Within days, three of the four Ryan brothers have been killed in action. The youngest, Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), is alive somewhere behind enemy lines. Miller is to take his squad to find and retrieve the soldier.
The film accompanies the men on their harrowing search, as they increasingly question their mission. While they understand the reasoning behind the assignment, they also see the cold reality. In order to soften the terrible blow for Mother Ryan, the military is putting their eight lives at great risk. Is the compassionate gesture worth the potential body count?
As they travel, we see the dynamics of the squad. Captain Miller is a strong, down-to-earth, but cryptic leader. Even the men closest to him don't know what he does for a living in the civilian world. Private Reiben (Edward Burns) is an outspoken New Yorker who doesn't hide his resentment over the mission. Giovanni Ribisi plays Wade, the empathic, skilled medic, while Jeremy Davies is Corporal Upham, a timid young man "drafted" to replace the squad's slain interpreter. Having never experienced combat first-hand, Upham is the fish-out-of-water who serves as a sort-of representative for the audience.
It's a strong cast. Ribisi, who plays Phoebe's brother on "Friends," leaves a lasting impression as the dedicated medic, and Davies is also memorable, although the "Going All The Way" actor needs to widen the type of roles he plays, lest he find himself forever typecast as a skittish introvert. As Private Ryan, Matt Damon nicely fleshes out his character despite his relatively limited screen time. And the remarkable Tom Hanks delivers yet another outstanding performance, making Captain Miller a man instead of an icon. Don't be surprised if he gets another Best Actor nomination next spring.
Steven Spielberg films are often heavy-handed, but he displays great restraint here. The harrowing war scenes never feel like directoral grandstanding, and the sentimental moments are heart-wrenching without becoming drippy. Similarly, John Williams' haunting score beautifully accents the film, a welcome change after his overly manipulative turn in "Amistad." I suspect both men were tempted to lay things on a little thicker. Thank goodness they held themselves back from emotionally bullying the audience.
A crowning cinematic achievement, "Saving Private Ryan" doesn't romanticize or condemn World War II. It is far more effective by presenting war with simple, stark honesty. Spielberg told the Los Angeles Times that he made the film for the men who survived, as well as those who perished. "It is to honor them with the truth and to hopefully teach something," he said. "Audiences today go to the movies, and they are often thrilled by violence. This is intended to show the other side of what violence does to human beings."
He achieved his goal.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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