Sept. 16, 2002 - 11:19 pm
i got into the mood to see this one when i started doing the Best Picture nominees of the 90s list. even though it was a nominee in 1989 i still really wanted to see it. i decided i might actually like it even though it was a war film. and it really was quite good. keep in mind that i don't enjoy too many war related films, but there are a few decent examples. i'd have to say my favorite is really Saving Private Ryan (1998), but some others are excellent as well. Born on the Fourth of July is not totally about the war. it's more about one man's struggle to come to terms with a war he decides is unjust. a sort of after-the-fact war film in line with The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
the film is based on the true story of Ron Kovic who went to Vietnam very early on in the war and came back paralyzed from the mid chest down. he started out as an extreme patriot before he left home, but after seeing the horrors of war and how mistaken he was by the federal government about the spread of Communism, he begins to see things differently. he then struggles to find a way to deal with his confusion and mixed feelings. eventually, he becomes a voice to those veterans and people that feel that the war is unjust and a useless cause.
i think it really helps me to deal with war films if they take a look at the perspectives of just a few people (or only one in this case). it's hard to identify with a large group of people. that requires a lot of complex characterization. too many war films just give you a batch of underdeveloped or flawed characters to focus on and it doesn't really feel like they go anywhere. Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic's screenplay do a much better job focusing on the single character and his perception of events.
Tom Cruise again astounds me in this film. he is definitely an oustanding actor. you've got to be kidding yourself if you don't think he has any talent. sure he makes the occasional idiotic film...a.k.a. Mission: Impossible (1996)...Mission: Impossible II (2000)...Mission: Impossible 3 (2004). but then you just have to take a look at his work in a film like Goldmember (2002) and wet yourself.