Review of From Here to Eternity (1953) by Kylie P — 25 Apr 2009

This film has its good points and its bad points. On the good side, the film is well acted, even if not well written or well directed. The most impressive performance belonged to Donna Reed, who was not at all Donna Reed-like in this against-type role. There were times when she portrayed an ugly and cynical worldview, and her fears and passions for Prew were decidedly sultry and sincere. It was probably the best performance of her career. Similarly, "ol' blue eyes" was a treat to watch as the funny and touching Maggio, who becomes involved in an ongoing fight for his life with the sadistic stockade sergeant, Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine), though his final scenes rang a bit over the top.

Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr were also good. Yet, the entire story is portrayed in a cringingly melodramatic way. There's a primary plot point centered on the army and its inner workings, but the secondary plot points, notably the love affairs, were a touch histrionic, almost like soap operas. They were indicative of the period, to be sure, but they also felt forced and unnatural and, in many ways, not relatable. There was a sweetness about Prew and Loreen and a sexy-ness about Warden and Karen, but, in the end, these love affairs are designed to be tragic, and the writing and dialogue, whether it originated from the novel or can be attributed to the adapting screenwriter's design, played more like dime-store romance novel than epic love story. In fact, some of the dialogue was simply downright cheesy.

As for technical achievements, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the way it was filmed, with swooping planes crisscrossing the skies over the barracks, and the shots of running bodies on the ground meeting grisly ends like dominoes toppled by automatic airborne gunfire, was actually quite exciting. The sound and sound effects in this portion of the film were quite impressive for the year in which it was released. Fred Zinnemann's direction in this particular part of the film was also extremely poignant, as the focus seemed to shift toward patriotism, honor, and duty, which is why the film resonates more like a war movie than a romance drama. Of course, the pacing for the entire rest of the film belied the direction toward the exciting bombing scenes by being methodical and slow. Ultimately, though, there are other, better-written war romances and better war films in general. There are also better films about life in the army.