Review of From Here to Eternity (1953) by Brett C — 02 Aug 2014

Man, through "From Her_ to Eternity", Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds kind of ruined this neat little title for me. Yeah, yeah, these folks can worry about a possible Japanese invasion, but maybe we should have tightened up for the Aussie invasion of the '80s, because Nick Cave is a little too much experimental post-punk than I'm comfortable with. Shoot, maybe they could have gotten an early start during WWII, because it doesn't seem like these guys are so much concerned about Japanese attacks, as much as they're concerned with bickering with one another and worrying about the women in their lives. This film is good and all, but it isn't much of a war film, which is probably a good thing, because it could be taken as military propaganda enough as it is without cool action and junk. Kids, don't look at this film and think that when you get into the military, you'll get the chance to lounge around a Hawaiian beach, making out with a beautiful woman. Well, you might be able to pull that off if you have Burt Lancaster's physique and grin, or if you looked like Montgomery Clift, or if you could sing like Frank Sinatra. This is one seriously Hollywood army, and there's still no action, which is fine, because this film is still plenty compelling, despite its issues, and its having plenty of time to run into issues.

Running not even a whole two hours, this film is by no means terribly long, but like I said, for a military film, it doesn't have much going on, so storytelling often struggles to find material to work with, until it gets to be kind of repetitious, and feels as though it's losing focus the more it spends too much time with one plot layer over the others. The film follows three intertwined, yet still distinct storylines, and each one is thoroughly compelling, but considering that pacing is so uneven, the transitions between each overdrawn layer go convoluted feel relatively sudden. The storytellers tend to fumble all of the layering which, to a certain extent, reflects the ambition which is further emphasized by refreshing dramatic touches that in turn emphasize the lapses in originality, of which there are many, to where a certain predictability often rears its ugly head in amidst surprises. It doesn't help that contrivances are among the tropes hit in the storytelling, for the plots are nothing if not melodramatic, and made all the more disingenuous in feel - despite all of the inspiration - by heavy-handed dialogue and contrived characterization. Through all of the film's grace is subtlety issues, some of which are a little cheesy, and all of which are either lazy or further reflective of an ambition to bloat the kick and structure of this drama, whose value is limited to begin with. I've said it time and again, but this isn't much of a military drama, and by that, I mean that's not a particularly dynamic drama at all, having enough potential to be made into a rewarding final product, but not enough for it to be easy to overlook all of the excess, unevenness, familiarity and melodramatics. The final product's reward value is well-threatened, but ultimately secured, and pretty firmly, partly because it knows how to immerse.

Something of an intimate character drama, this film isn't thoroughly exploratory of its Hawaiian setting, but a lot of the film's engagement value thrives on its boasting such a beautiful setting, which is both aesthetically pleasing, - in spite of a lack of color - and tight enough to actually help in complimenting the sense of intimacy which this story would be nothing without. Sure, the intimacy of the story concept minimalizes the scope of this drama of a limited sense of consequence, and is betrayed by some subtlety issues to storytelling, but as I said, each one of the plots in this melodrama is compelling, with human themes regarding men's principles and love that hold a lot of potential for a grace which was ahead of this time in dramatic filmmaking. Daniel Taradash's Oscar-winning screenplay, with its contrivances and other heavy-handed touches, does a degree of injustice to the depth of this film, while also shaking momentum through excess and inconsistencies, but more than anything, it's sharp, with solid dialogue and enough taste to characterization and audacity to the handling of worthy subject matter to carry some genuine heart. Fred Zinnemann brings resonance to this heart, because if momentum is sustained here, then it's through Zinnemann's well-paced scene structuring which draws upon the sharp highlights in scripting in order to sustain entertainment value, and your attention with it, through and through, until finding unexpected subtlety. There are times in which the film is rather moving, but there are few, if any times in which the drama is less than compelling, for no matter how much fumblings in ambition challenge your investment, the inspiration and taste found throughout the film endears about as much as the performers. This is a sizable cast full of talent, and just about every member is, at the very least, sparklingly charismatic, and that especially goes for leading men Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra, who also hit their share of dramatic highlights which, especially for the time, are powerful in their defining the vulnerability of the central focuses of this intimate character drama. These leads carry the final product about as assuredly as anyone, or at least highlight the reflections of heart which can be found in most every area of this drama, and although it is hard to completely disregard the shortcomings, they are decidedly overcome.

Once eternity is reached, the film takes a touch too long to unevenly unravel a sometimes formulaic, frequently melodramatic and somewhat thin narrative, but engagement value is consistently sustained by the lavish locations, noble subject matter, thoughtful writing, effective direction and strong performances by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra which make Fred Zinnemann's "From Here to Eternity" a compelling, intimate portrait on the challenges of soldiers which extent beyond the military.

3/5 - Good.