Review of An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) by Harry W — 12 May 2013

An Officer and a Gentleman is very well crafted film that deals with passions of the heart and the soul on several different levels ranging from emotions to ambitions, and it's so finely acted with a fine soundtrack that it succeeds with its many themes.

For one thing, it's handling of naval training is well executed due to its realistic handling of character drama in the training sequences and character chemistry, as well as the screenplay and genuine realistic intensity. The cast can be primarily attributed to the leading cause of An Officer and a Gentleman's success, as well as the skilled direction of Taylor Hackford in the handling of the stories heart as well as Douglas Day Stewart for having created such a well written story for the viewers to enjoy in terms of patriotism and heart.

The heart of the story is also rich with passion thanks to the romantic side of the story which balances with the patriotism and determination themes well and creates another side to Zack Mayo's characterisation and analyses the two sides of a passionate male with creative film skill.

And from a technical standpoint, the fine screenplay, proper editing and finely composed musical score consisting of the Academy Award winning song "Up Where We Belong", a song which evolved into a cultural icon and still has the same heart today as it did when Richard Gere first picked Debra Winger up in his arms back in 1982, and so it's a piece of romantic nostalgia. It's powerful, gripping and sad in all the right places and is vastly entertaining in its drama.

Of course, the main source of importance in An Officer and a Gentleman comes from its talented cast.

Richard Gere makes a handsome lead with skill at developing his characterisation of being a Naval Patriot as well as being a romantic lover, and so he becomes characterised to the audience both as a strong male archetype as well as a romantic one, the ideal male in the view of a woman's eyes. But luckily, it's realistic portrayal of the characters struggles doesn't turn him into a male example of Hollywood falsifying images for the audience. Richard Gere was great.

But Louis Gossett, Jr. is the man who spawns a legacy thanks to An Officer and a Gentleman, despite becoming largely typecast afterwards. But his legacy remains the same, because his confident and flawless line delivery is absolutely strong and provides a challenge for Zack Mayo to face which helps characterise the both of them, and so therefore the combination of characters at each others throats with rich chemistry is impeccable, and Louis Gossett Jr. is so respectable for his work, and the fact that he played a similar character to a much lesser extent in my all time favourite movie, Toy Soldiers.

And Debra Winger gives one of her finest performances erecting the heart of the passionate romance into a fire of love that burns like Zack Mayo's resilience and is questionable until the moment when he does the famous lift. And even though its overused in culture and is now somewhat predictable, it's still a very fine scene and symbolises what she has worked to hard for just as he has, but for her heart's desire. Her performance is rich with character heart, and it's a passionate thing to see. Debra Winger was great.

So An Officer and a Gentleman works at entertaining both the female and the male viewer through its two strong stories, and works as a valid cultural icon and an Oscar-Winning piece of passion.