Demi Moore plays a Lt. O'Neil, a talented Naval Intelligence officer whose career is thwarted by the male/female double standard: No advancement without operational experience (combat), and few openings in the field for women. Ann Bancroft plays a US Senator who is staging a re-election campaign. Chairing a defense oversight committee, she sees an opportunity make an issue of women in the military. Threatening to withhold an appointment of a Defense Secretary, she gets a carte blanche concession. Any woman who measures up can have any job. Testing that assurance, the senator opts to recruit a woman for the toughest duty of all: Navy Seal training. O'Neil is picked, as much for her looks as her resume.
Seal training was a poor choice. Only the best of the best need apply, but this is less like Top Gun, and more like the Bataan death march, interrupted by lessons in weapons and tactics. It is expected that 60% of the enrollees will drop out. The intent is to cull out the hardiest soldiers for the toughest insurgence and rescue operations. Only the Pete Rose/Lenny Dykstra types need apply. Many will need to stoke up their strongest machismo just to grit it out. Into this ordeal, Lt. O'Neil is thrown.
But O'Neil feels up to the challenge. She has the drive, and she is in exceptional physical shape. A big question is whether the brass will thwart her, and whether her fellow trainees will accept her. These issues make up the real story of the movie. Those in command are just as apprehensive about the dangerous political position this puts them in. With no precedents, they try their best to accommodate O'Neil, but separate quarters and different pass/fail requirements end up embarrassing her and alienating her from those she needs to bond with. That buzz-cut you see in the promos is her idea, and when she insists on bunking with boys, the stakes go up.
Much of O'Neil's struggle is defined by her relation with the head instructor, Master Chief Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen in a good, complex role). Urgayle is an expert in this rarefied survival environment, and he is a fair man in a program where nothing is fair. He truly feels that the presence of a woman in combat makes the rest of the soldiers more vulnerable. When he puts O'Neil through her toughest test, he is also brought to his limits. The best scenes in this movie include O'Neil and Urgayle.
Director Ridley Scott remains one of my favorites. This time, he didn't get much chance to sneak in his trademark art direction, but he delivers O'Neil's story well. Demi Moore has had her ups and downs in this business, the downs coming when she misjudges the true nature of her appeal. It looks as if she got this one right. O'Neil's drive and feistiness mirrors Moore's willingness to throw herself into one unsafe role after another. The audience may find themselves waffling between rooting for character O'Neil and actress Moore. It's always nice to see Ann Bancroft in a movie. She doesn't work enough to suit me, so I cherish little cameos like the one she did in Love Potion No. 9. When G.I. Jane was over, I had found a new actor to follow. Viggo Mortensen was a name I had often noticed when the credits listed all the background supporting roles, but this is the first time I got to see him featured. I am looking forward to the next time.
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