The Thin Red Line Review
by Mark R Leeper (leeper AT mtgbcs DOT ho DOT lucent DOT com)January 22nd, 1999
THE THIN RED LINE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Heavy on mood and texture, light on
plot, this is sort of an APOCALYPSE NOW for World
War II. It combines frightening realistic battle
sequences with a sort of post-war literary style.
The narrative is blunted by having far too many
characters to keep straight. Rating: 7 (0 to 10),
low +2 (-4 to +4). A non-spoiler section at the
end of the review places the events of this film in an historical context.
New York Critics: 12 positive, 1 negative, 6 mixed
"There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad." That is supposedly an old Midwestern saying. From it James Jones took the title of his semi-autobiographical novel based on his experiences in the Infantry Company C on Guadalcanal. That book was adapted into a movie by Andrew Marton in 1964. Now Terrence Malick, who has not made a film for two decades but who made the moody BADLANDS and DAYS OF HEAVEN, has filmed it a second time.
The story follows Company C and their experiences on Guadalcanal. There is very little real plot for a film of this length, about three hours. Basically the film simply has a company of soldiers comes to the island, has a hard fight against the Japanese, and finally leaves. We get to know the characters through their interaction and hearing their thoughts on the soundtrack. Their thoughts may well be accurate to the novel, but they are a little too poetic to be believed.
Commanding the action in Lt. Col. Gordon Tall (played by Nick Nolte). Tall is a bitter man past the age when most men retire from command but wanting to have command in a battle to prove himself. "The closer you are to Caesar the greater the fear," Tall thinks to himself. It is not entirely clear what he means by that, but it is the sort of think most of the soldiers seem to think to themselves. One soldier Bell (Ben Chaplin) thinks endlessly about his wife and we have inter- cut dreamlike scenes of her and of the two of them together. He has turned her into sort of the idealized woman. He remembers her over and over, her and his memories of telling her that if anything will happen to him, "I will wait for you on the other side of the dark waters." It is hard to believe GIs talked or thought like this.
The film goes from one character to the next as we hear their thoughts and see how they react to the experience. There are plot developments, like a conflict between Tall and commanding Captain Staros (Elias Koteas), but the point of the film is mood, not to tell a story. One of the problems with THE THIN RED LINE is that it is hard to keep so many characters straight on a single viewing. The names are new and so are most of the important faces. And it does not help that the viewer that he is seeing them in army helmets that cover up the top part of the head. There are some major stars in this film, but frequently they will appear in what amount to cameo roles. John Travolta and George Clooney appear in one scene each. Sean Penn is recognizable and has a larger role as a nasty sergeant who tells an idealistic soldier, "We are living in a world where man is trying to blow himself up as fast as he can arrange it. Just shut your eyes and take it." Frequently we are shut out of what is really happening. In one case we see one of the soldiers on the transport yelling for a door to be opened, but are given no explanation what that is all about.
The film is an uneasy balance of style and realism. While the scenes of battle are very realistic, much of the credibility is sacrificed by having the characters think in the free verse we hear in the voice-overs. Somehow it is not believable that when a soldier is in great danger, tracking through the high grass, constantly on the lookout for an enemy who could appear at any time, that he thinks in poetry. Far more than the novel, the film takes advantage of its location in the Melanesia tropical forest. Some of the nature photography is top notch. The film opens with an extended image of a crocodile submerging into water, giving the nature a sinister side. It is inviting but deadly. One interviewed veteran I have heard soldier says that he does not remember there being as much high grass but the sound editor uses it to create a lush feel to the film. Hans Zimmer, who has scored several films with African themes over the past several years, has provided a score that sounds as African as anything he has written. Whether this sound is authentic to the Solomon Islands is questionable.
The film is a powerful experience, one that undoubtedly captures much of the feel of battle in a new hyper-realistic style. But much of the film does not work or at least requires multiple viewings to take in. I rate the film 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The stories in THE THIN RED LINE are from the point of view of soldier who did not see "the big picture." This film had little of the actual history surrounding this battle. Here is what was missing from the film. In 1942 Japanese military spearheaded south and captured the Solomon Islands, bringing the war almost to Australia's doorstep. Queensland, Australia, was just 1000 miles to the southwest. It was vitally important to the Japanese that they disrupt Allied Forces in the area or they would be pushed easily back out. To avoid this they needed a base from which to launch air attacks against Allied supply lines. They built their air base on Guadalcanal Island. New Evidence suggests that as early as five years previously, and before the war started, they had planned for what they saw was the coming war and were stocking Guadalcanal to hold the island.
On August 7, 1942, the day the United States had been in the war only eight months, the United States sent in 6000 Marines to capture the island, never expecting it would be a major battle. Repeatedly each side brought in reinforcements as the battle grew, first one side and then the other. The fighting spread from the island to a navy battle in the surrounding sea. The Japanese were well-entrenched and very difficult to dislodge. The natural protections of the Japanese and the malarial jungles took a heavy toll on the Allies. The Allied forces here were 90% American. The fighting extended from August 1942 to January 1943. Naval superiority eventually decided the battle for the Americans.
The effect upon the Pacific War was profound. There were 1600 Americans killed and another 4200 wounded. There were 7100 casualties in total. But the Japanese losses were more terrible. There were 14,000 Japanese killed or wounded. Another 9000 died of disease or starvation. About a thousand were captured. Guadalcanal together with Midway were really the turning of the tide of the Pacific War. At Guadalcanal the Americans proved the Japanese could make mistakes and could be beaten. Victory is usually the result of a combination of skill and luck. And at Guadalcanal the American forces could feel they had defeated the Japanese through genuine military skill unlike at Midway where the Japanese were beaten not as much by the Allies and much more by an incredible run of really bad luck. But these two great Japanese losses really sealed the fate of the Japanese in the Pacific War.
Mark R. Leeper
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Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper
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