PLATOON (1986), nominated for 8 and garnered 4 Oscars in 1987 (Best Director for Oliver Stone, Best Picture for Arnold Kopelson, Best Sound, and Best Editing for Claire Simpson) is a Vietnam War movie about the evils of war, a staple approach to any such movie. However, it is also a courageous and in-your-face look at the chaotic nature of warfare and the taboo of friendly fire. Looked at from the vantage point of the year 2006, and having seen many other Vietnam movies like Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket since 1986, I now realize that this is still one of the tamer and straight-forward examples of the genre. This still stands comfortably on its legs as an ensemble piece with its moments and works well as an indictment of a massive letdown in which the grunts trying to do their assigned duties in the death-infested swamps of Vietnam were perhaps the last ones to blame. The film, shot in the forbidding jungles of Philippines, boasts a high-powered cast including Tom Berenger (as SSgt. Bob Barnes), Willem Dafoe (Sgt. Elias Grodin), an 18 year old Charlie Sheen (Pvt. Chris Taylor), Johnny Depp (Pvt. Gator Lerner), Forest Whitaker (Big Harold), Francisco Quinn (son of the great Anthony Quinn, as Rhah), to name a few. Writing by Oliver Stone (who won the screenwriting Oscar in 1978 for his Midnight Express as well as another Best Director Oscar in 1989 for Born on the Fourth of July) is well paced, preserving a good rhythm between scenes of carnage and reflection. The dialogs are crisp and realistic. The voiceover provided by the main character Chris Taylor is without an equal because it addresses Taylors grandmother. I thought that was such a poignant touch for a young private lost in the world, who does not even have a girlfriend yet, to take refuge in the wisdom of his grandmother while all hell is breaking loose around him. The plot, unfolding from the view-point of Pvt. Taylor, actually does not have too much meat in it. This movie shines on character and setting, on predicament and context, rather than on clever plot twists and turns. It can be summarized as one long story of a platoon either engaging the Viet Cong in the slug and snake infected jungle swamps, often under tropic rain, or getting stoned out of their minds to suspend the harrowing reality for an hour or two. When the two top dogs of the platoon, the over-the-edge nihilistic Ssgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias who can still rely on his conscience and basic moral values, clash heads, they divide the platoon into two bickering factions. The result of such infighting and accumulating resentment is not pretty. The metaphysical horror of war has been exposed with more dramatic authority by one-of-a-kind movies like Apocalypse Now. Platoon does not go that deep but it is still a bona fide Vietnam War movie that should be on every movie fans must-see list. An 8 out of 10. ---------------------------------------- |
