Review of Born on the Fourth of July (1989) by Mateusz Z — 08 Jan 2011

The problem with Stone is that he is an extremely uneven director. Here he surpassed himself. The first act is a mess of a movie filmed like a shampoo advert (probably to provide contrast with what comes later, but instead it immediately repelled me). The second act is a work of sheer brilliance. The hospital scenes, the return home and the trip to Mexico are probably the best portrayal of the psyche of a physically and mentally incapacitated war veteran that I have ever seen in film. Tom Cruise is surprisingly good and keep an eye for the great appearance of Dafoe. Unfortunately, the third act does not keep the quality up. Some plot lines are suddenly abandoned, while Kovic's transition is uncredible and rushed. Finally, the ending is too clear cut and feel-good to leave us with any serious afterthoughts. Overall, not a classsic many believe it to be, but a solid piece of social cinema marred by it's inconsistency.

ON A REWATCH, this movie gained a little in my eyes. Knowing the horror that Kovic's life was about to become, the beginning reads more like a cynical bubble in which the protagonist is trapped, and in which his character is shaped, then the shampoo ad I babbled about in the original review. In fact, it is the contrast between the opening act and the rest of the movie that makes it such a great piece of filmmaking.

However, even after all these years the ending still fails to convince me. Stone spends little time elaborating on how Kovic's transition comes about and as a result the final act feels like a bunch of scenes from a different movie ('Milk', anyone?), even despite the clever parentheses the director uses to frame the movie and connect the finale to Kovic's childhood. However, even with the rushed denouement, this remains one of the classic psychological portraits in cinema history. Up half a star!