Review of The Thin Red Line (1998) by David A — 10 May 2010

(from The Watermark, 01/21/99).

A pretentious WWII opus from writer-director Terrence Malick. It recounts the Battle of Gaudalcanal, in which American soldiers began our eventual victory in the Pacific. Where the film succeeds resoundingly is the way in which Malick slowly and nerve-wrackingly follows these soldiers into battle. We're not just in the trenches experiencing the sonic booms and flying dirt, we are walking alongside them in the deafening silence of the jungle -- waiting, anticipating whatever may lie ahead. Trouble is, that can only carry us so far. Malick frames this brilliant edge-of-your-seat hour-and-a-half with another hour-and-a-half of Deep Thoughts In Battle. Against a beautiful backdrop of breathtaking images (war has never looked this good), we hear the various soldiers ponder and muse about the nature of war and man's self-destruction. These characters are pondersome, yes, but are they interesting cinematic entities? No. The only stand-outs are Nolte as a careerist Lieutenant Colonel, Caviezel as an AWOL deserter, and Penn as a cocky Sean-Pennesque soldier. Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, and George Clooney make star-studded cameos which do nothing to enhance this fractured, catatonia-inducing assault. It's too hyper-poetic, artsy, and long-winded for its own good. It could have been subtitled A Chekhovian War.