Review of Coming Home (1978) by Paul Z — 03 Aug 2008

Coming Home is one of the greatest movies about the Vietnam War, only it never sets foot in Nam. Rather than tackling the horrors of the combat itself, Hal Ashbyâ??s completely unassuming film showcases the stoic lack of relief and joy in coming home from combat. Rather than focusing on the hardships of metamorphosis of the men directly involved in fighting, Ashbyâ??s film addresses the perspective of a Captainâ??s wife.

You forget Jane Fonda is Jane Fonda, and itâ??s not even a very demanding, complex role. Itâ??s an everywoman, yet she completely becomes her to the point where weâ??re not thinking of her as an actress playing a role. She is very much a whole character. She even says at one point that people donâ??t see her as she really is, that they see, â??Cheery Sally, the Captainâ??s wife,â?? and says that sometimes she thinks sheâ??s becoming what people see. And she brilliantly portrays that hint throughout the film.

While working as a nurse in a veteran hospital, she happens upon an old friend played by Jon Voight, in one of the few roles in which I find him interesting, who has returned from Vietnam as a paraplegic. With the entertaining Bruce Dern, Jane Fondaâ??s husband, away at war, a pure connection grows between Fonda and Voight, and she discovers the orgasm. After the suicide of Fondaâ??s friendâ??s brother, another veteran who has returned insane, Voightâ??s single-minded pursuit is to stop at nothing to prevent any more young men from going off to war.

A good touch by Ashby is a surprising care given to the music in the movie. The soundtrack is a jukebox of 1970s rock playing through the majority of the film, but at a volume that makes it seem like source music even when it isnâ??t.