Review of Coming Home (1978) by Mamay K — 30 Apr 2010

Rom director Hal Ashby, one of the great unsung filmmakers of the New Hollywood era, whose films included Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973) and Being There (1979) comes this thoughtful but powerful post-war film.

It's a Vietnam film, but a different kind of Vietnam film. It's not on the front line, it focuses on the aftermath, and the plight of many a wounded soldier. It has Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) volunteering to work at a war veteran hospital where her Violet (Penelope Milford) works.

While working there, she meets an old friend Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a soldier back from Vietnam, but now paralysed from the waist down. He is trying to get back into society, but is having trouble coping with his disability.

Sally helps him one step at a time, and love blossoms between the two, despite the fact Sally is married to an Army captain called Bob (Bruce Dern) who is serving in Vietnam. It's a powerful romantic drama, and it feels like it could be a true story, though it was inspired by the story of Ron Kovic, whose own life was adapted by Oliver Stone for Born on the Fourth of July (1989).

But, this is a powerful film with good performances and a brilliant soundtrack with songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Creedance Clearwater Revival.