THE THIN RED LINE (M).
Director:Terrence Malick
Stars: Sean Penn,
Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel, John Cusack,
Elias Koteas, Woody Harrelson, Ben
Chaplin, Jared Leto, Adrien Brody,
George Clooney, John C Reilly, John
Travolta, John Savage, Arie Verveen,
Dash Mihok
Running Time:171 minutes.
Writer/director Terrence Malick can hardly be called
prolific. He made only two films (the critically
acclaimed Badlands and Days Of Heaven) in the
mid-'70's, before taking a self imposed twenty year
hiatus from Hollywood. His first film in two decades
is one of the most eagerly anticipated cinema events
this side of the new Star Wars film. While it is
certainly visually impressive, Malick's The Thin Red
Line is something of a disappointment, especially
when compared with Spielberg's achievement in the
recent devastating and unforgettable Saving Private
Ryan.
Based on the novel by James Jones, The Thin Red
Line deals with US forces fighting the Japanese army
at Guadalcanal, a bitter and costly campaign that
became one of the turning points of W.W.II.
However, Malick's epic war film is a different animal
to Spielberg's. Unlike Spielberg, Malick doesn't
immediately hurtle us into the inferno of battle.
Instead, he lulls us into the brutality of war through an
extended prologue. Witt (Jim Caviezel), an AWOL
soldier, lives in short-lived tranquillity in a peaceful
native village somewhere in the Pacific. He becomes
part of the massive US landing force at Guadalcanal.
The film's centrepiece is the extended and savage
campaign to destroy Japanese machine gun
fortifications and take a crucial hill. This often graphic
and quite harrowing battle occupies over half of the
film's three hour running time. However, the action
lacks the intensity and ferocity of Spielberg's
recreation of the fury of warfare. It also seems to lack
that gritty air of authenticity that seemed to effectively
suck audiences into the maelstrom.
The combat scenes give the audience the extremes of
heroism. But Malick is also concerned with showing
the madness of battle fatigue, and the film depicts the
senseless loss of life and futile carnage of the war.
The Thin Red Line is almost a profound and almost
poetic meditation on the nature of war and how it
poisons man's soul. There's nothing noble about this
bloody conflict, and, ultimately, there are no winners.
The film was shot on location, partly in tropical far
north Queensland as well as in the Solomon Islands.
Such is Malick's reputation that he had a veritable
who's who of Hollywood queuing up for small roles,
including John Travolta, John Cusack, Woody
Harrelson, George Clooney, and Sean Penn.
Unfortunately, though, few of the characters leave a
lasting impact on the audience, and I found that I
didn't really care about them or their fate. Nick Nolte
is dynamic as the obsessed and driven colonel who
relishes his first opportunity to fight a war after fifteen
years in the army, and who doesn't care how many
men have to lose their lives in securing a vital strategic
position. Caviezel brings a human face to the film as
Witt, the reluctant soldier who ultimately becomes a
hero when tested in battle.
The Thin Red Line is certainly Malick's most epic
and ambitious film to date, and it is as meticulously
crafted and evocative as his previous work. He gives
this war film an almost elegiac quality and a rare
humanity. His sweeping vision is complemented by
the spectacularly gorgeous cinematography of dual
Oscar winner John Toll and the haunting score from
Hans Zimmer.