The Thin Red Line (1998)
A Film Review by Mark O'Hara
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Terrence Malik's 'The Thin Red Line' is a diatribe against war, an anti-violence tone poem that highlights the senselessness and insanity that occurs when humans insist on fighting. It is also a very uneven film.
Malik's screenplay begins with two GIs walking about a scant village of native islanders, with whom they seem to be familiar. The friendliness of Pvt. Witt (James Caviezel) is obvious in the easy way he relates to a woman caring for her child. After an American patrol boat passes, we learn that Witt and his friend have been AWOL, actually taking a break from the war and living with the villagers. Instantly we are forced to note the contrast between the lush rainforest, beaches leading down to sparkling water, and the troop ship on which Witt is held prisoner by his own army. Sgt. Edward Welch (Sean Penn) takes a sort of philosophical pity on Witt, however, and instead of being court-martialed, the young man is sent to a disciplinary unit where he helps care for the wounded. It is here that Witt commences his role as Christ figure, a gentle soul sent along to teach others by kind acts and examples. Ironic for a soldier, especially when Witt talks his way back into "C" Company, which is run by Welsh and captained by James Staros (Elias Koteas).
The film follows this company throughout their campaign to take an important hill on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal in the Second World War. As much as it can be categorized, the plot consists of these men's exploits, triumphs and deaths in their attempts to capture this strategic strip of land from the occupying Japanese forces.
The history surrounding the battles around the Solomon Islands is non-existent; perhaps Malik can justify the paucity of military planning in the name of character development or even in the service of portraying war in its allegorical sense. But it would have been nice to see more than one soldier with a clipboard, and more than two scenes showing where these weary warriors slept or mended or spend their off hours. Anyhow, Malik is not after portraying what happened throughout the entire offensive on Guadalcanal and Tulagi between August, 1942 and February, 1943. As I stated before, his intention seems to be showing the grisly reality of modern combat, focusing on the devastation wreaked upon individual men.
A fascinating element employed by Malik is the voice-over monologues. First we hear Witt talking about the natives, followed by other characters ruminating on what's happening to their lives. Images interrupt their voices, a wife swinging or a child in a field - remnants of real-world memories many of the men carry with them in the same way they carry lockets with photographs. These sudden, almost expressionistic sequences serve to show the source of meaning in these men's lives; they add a sense of home and comfort in the chaos of battle and the mortal boredom of waiting to attack. Because they are risky narrative devices, these mental flashbacks are to be admired. It's when they go on too long that they threaten the success of the film.
A very strong aspect is the battle scenes. Starting with the LCIs racing toward shore, their engines rumbling above the spirited shouts of the troops, Malik depicts energy and action very well. The assault by Charlie Company on the hill will rank with the best and most realistic of filmed combat. It contains so many dimensions of the human condition - courage and cowardice, ethical dilemmas and accidents, terror and egotism - that a review cannot do justice to its accomplishment. Malik has choreographed truly realistic and horrifying work here.
A lot has been said about Malik's striking camera work, and it's clear why. The settings are beautifully shot, from the hills covered with high grass to the green glassiness of the sea. When Malik juxtaposes the war atop these images from Eden, we get a quick idea of the destructiveness of humankind. Just over the ridge of five-foot grass, or across the clearing in the bamboo forest, there lurks a painful death. One is reminded again that World War II is often glorified, its purpose just. But directors like Malik and Steven Spielberg show us scenes just as hellish as anything set during other wars. Occasionally, though, the individual daydream sequences last too long, seeming to lack direction and sometimes coherence.
'The Thin Red Line' is well acted. If you are like me and do not care for Sean Penn, perhaps because of the reputation formed in his younger years, you will probably change your mind. I saw him just recently in 'Dead Man Walking', and was impressed by his complete assumption of the character. His Sgt. Welsh is sculpted just as carefully, with searing stares and wrinkled, compassionate brow. Nick Nolte, as Lt. Colonel Gordon Tall, hands in the other outstanding performance. From the time we first see him licking the boots of his one-star general (John Travolta) to the time he inadvertently reveals his megalomania, Nolte flashes the subtle expressions, mannerisms and intonations owned by the very best actors.
Several actors distinguish themselves in supporting roles. John Cusack is so good that he seems underused. Woody Harrelson sketches a mean but heroic Sgt. Keck in his brief role. As Captain Staros, Elias Koteas assumes a gutsy, fatherly authority: he's a lawyer turned trained killer, a reluctant leader with the backbone to stand up to the rants and ordered suicides of Col Tall. In their cameo appearances, John Travolta and George Clooney struck me as so much fluff. Like a couple of the precious dream shots, they call too much attention to themselves. I like them as actors, but why hire leading men for jobs character actors can do better?
It's a fair judgment that the 170-minute running time helps to cause the saggy narrative structure, particularly at the end. Malik goes over-the-top with his poetic disgust, but his grasp for greatness puts within our reach a far better film than one made by a safer director with less vision. I would recommend seeing this lush and memorable piece on the big screen if you can; otherwise, wait until its premiere on commercial television.
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