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Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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2006 – R – 131 min.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Primary Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Jamie Bell, Robert Patrick
Stars *** 1/2 (of 5)
Popcorn ** 1/2 (of 5)
Film Type(s): Drama, War, Alcoholism, Post-Traumatic Stress, World War II, Mistaken Identity
Synopsis: The flag raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima proved an inspiring turning point in World War II, but what of the men in the photo? John “Doc” Bradley (Phillipe), Rene Gagnon (Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Beach) were the only survivors of the photo by the time they were brought back to the USA for a Bond drive in 1945. Doc can’t stand seeing his comrades in arms fall apart and guilty for not being able to explain to the public that they were, in fact, the men that raised the second, not first, flag that day. Gagnon loves the attention, but is hesitant to take a lot of credit since he never got to fire a single shot. Hayes feels guilty for the men left behind and can only drown his sorrows in a bottle, a situation made all the worse by being an American Indian when people on the drive keep calling him “Chief” and excusing his Alcoholism as Stereotype.
Many Hollywood heavyweights leant themselves to this slow burning war drama. In addition to being led by two time Oscar Winning Director Eastwood, this film was Produced with Steven Spielberg, Edited by Joel Cox, Adapted for the Screen by Oscar Winner Paul Haggis (of Crash and Million Dollar Baby fame) and William Broyles from the book of the same name by Ron Powers. Eastwood also filmed Letters of Iwo Jima, telling the battle from the Japanese perspective (in Japanese), at the same time and released in December 2006.
Review: Ever wonder what the people in a famous photo might have thought about it or what it did for other people? That is the premise of this film, examining Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the Flag raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima as the focus. Rather than having the semi-linear structure of Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Eastwood instead inter-cuts the main part of the film of the survivors of the flag raising at Iwo Jima on a bond drive back in the United States during the war having flashback’s to the battle, showing it to us in bits and pieces, until we have a complete picture of what they saw and felt, leading to their Survivor’s Guilt. The film has stunning war battle visuals of the invasion, whether it be the gun battles of the boats, fighter planes like P-40s attacking a mountain, or the confusion coming from battling on volcanic earth. The Cinematography is beautiful using a Blue-Gray, Brown, Orange, and Red color palette to show the harsh conditions of the Pacific and coolness of home. Like Chaplin before him Eastwood frequently writes the music for his movies, and here Eastwood’s Score is a variation on America The Beautiful, making the imagery all the more potent and Patriotic. The Action is slow to move, but it is always an important part of the story and the acting is superb with Beach in particular a standout as American Indian Hayes. Eastwood gives Beach a lot of room to work in (and nowhere to hide), and he hits it out of the park.
Awards Likely: Oscar Nominations (and others) for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor for either Phillipe or Hayes, and Adapted Screenplay. On the technical side, look for Editing, Sound, Cinematography, and possibly Score.
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