Review of Born on the Fourth of July (1989) by Cameron W — 10 Jun 2013

I think this anti-war film may have the most intelligent screenplay of all anti-war films, maybe with the exception of The Thin Red Line or Paths of Glory. And Oliver Stone pretty much makes this film what it is with that script and his absolutely perfect directing.

But first of all, about the script, it is beautiful; the script conveys these men as going through an existential crisis, they are dealing with the meaninglessness of their actions, but also the severity of those actions.

Their actions have grave and huge consequences, but they can find no fulfillment and no meaning in any of those actions. Going to the war was supposed to give them a sense of righteousness and fulfillment in their lives, but it only made them feel more lost in this absurd world.

However, they find their meaning in the fight against war, they discover that those experiences gave them the courage and power to speak out against this chaos and absurdity. But now about the directing, Stone captures the utterly nihilistic view that the veterans carry with them with great fluidity, however, with every shot he makes their actions extremely meaningful, and eventually Ron Kovick comes to realize that.

Now for Tom Cruise's performance, it isn't the greatest acting performance in the world, but he is very steady and never overdoes anything, the performance was exactly what it needed to be, nothing more, nothing less.

And it may be his very best performance, but overall, this film is a masterpiece of directing and screenwriting.