G.I. Jane (1997)

reviewed by
Walter Frith


'G.I. Jane'
A movie review by Walter Frith

Demi Moore's struggle to give a star making performance has finally paid off with 'G.I. Jane'. Moore gives an incredibly strong performance filled with dedication to her craft thanks largely in part to the guidance of experienced veteran director Ridley Scott. Scott, whose films include 'Alien', 'Blade Runner' and 'Thelma and Louise' has crafted a film with some of the most intense basic training ever seen in a motion picture. Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' from 1987 featured an incredibly harsh treatment of raw recruits being inducted into the U.S. Marines but that film is tame in comparison to this.

Moore plays the first woman in the U.S. military to be trained as a Navy Seal. This reportedly is supposed to be the toughest training of any fighting force anywhere. Apparently, they have a drop out rate of 60 per cent. The master chief of the unit (Viggo Mortensen) vows that the first day will not end until someone drops out. The first day of training lasts 19 hours and the trainees look very physical in their roles. Attempts are made to give Moore preferential treatment since she is a woman. She resists any attempts at special treatment and tells her commanding officer that she wants to be treated EXACTLY the same way as every other man in her unit. Her three months of training hit some rocky spots from officials within the military who conspire against her in their attempt to keep the Navy Seal unit entirely dominated by men.

Ridley Scott's control of the camera in working with director of photography Hugh Johnson plunges the audience directly into the action with authentic scenes of military training both compelling and convincing. Demi Moore is thoroughly convincing in a very demanding physical role she plays with total credibility. She even sports a buzz cut to her hair to give the role more punch.

'G.I. Jane' is primarily a basic training film which is not a film classic but rather a slick opportunity to present a visual style of the military not done before in motion pictures. Anne Bancroft has some of the best work of her career in years as a U.S. Senator who recommends Moore as the first female candidate. She plays her role perfectly and convincingly by providing the basis of high rolling bureaucracy in doing what's convenient at the time of her profile among her peers and in front of the media complete with hypocrisy and different loyalties to suit the moment. 'G.I. Jane' is a film that rightfully knows the limits of its subject matter.

OUT OF 5> * * * *

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