Platoon (9/10): Oliver Stone's personal experience in Vietnam

“I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves. And the enemy was in us.”

If all war films were as good and sincere as Platoon it would probably be one of my favorite genres, but there are very few exceptions where the material is treated right as most directors tend to either be incredibly biased debating either in favor or against the war. It’s strange I make this claim since Platoon is obviously an anti-war film, but it treats the material with an honesty you don’t find in other films of the genre. It is much easier to make a statement like this in a war that everyone considers was a terrible mistake to get into. What Platoon has going for it however, is that it was written and directed by a man who actually served in the Vietnam War and decided to share his experience of what really was going on. Oliver Stone handles the material with incredible honesty not shying away from the horrors and senseless deaths in war and he delivers a film that never feels sermonizing (with a few exceptions). Even the villains (not the Vietnam soldiers, but the dubious Sgt. Barnes and his band of brothers) are portrayed with some sort of empathy. Platoon isn’t actually a film that focuses on war between Vietnamese and American soldiers, but rather the civil war that was going on inside the mind of these soldiers that Stone fought alongside with. He wasn’t afraid at pointing out who the real enemy truly was and for that reason the Vietnamese soldiers are barely portrayed in this film. It seems that with Platoon, Stone was able to cope with the effects that the war had on him and the result is a passionate and sincere film. 

In the very opening scene we are introduced to Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) as he has just been deployed to Vietnam and is arriving at the war zone. He narrates the film through voiceover as he is writing letters to his grandma informing her about the war. Unlike most of the soldiers, he wasn’t forced to go to the war, but volunteered after giving up on college. During the first few weeks he is struggling to keep up with the pace of war and no one seems to care too much for him since he’s the new kid who hasn’t yet been exposed to all the carnage they’ve experienced. Chris is currently serving two noncommissioned officers who couldn’t be more different from each other. On the one hand there is scar faced Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) who seems to have been in the war forever and on the other there is Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) who is much more lighthearted and easy going. Both are experts at war who know they are fighting with unexperienced soldiers. When a village raid gets out of hand both Sergeants take opposite sides and the platoon is divided between those who support Elias and those who take Barnes’s side. Evidently the war has taken a toll on all these men and some begin to question their very participation in it when they realize the enemy is inside each of them. There are also supporting performances from Johnny Depp, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, and John C. McGinley who are all in the platoon together.

There is no denying the emotional buildup during the scene of the village raid and Johnny Depp’s face says it all during one of the killings that takes place there. It is one of the most intense scenes I’ve seen in a war film. The performances in this movie are what stood out for me. Charlie Sheen is great in the lead role, but it is the confrontation between Berenger and Dafoe that truly stands out. Both deserved their Oscar nominations despite not winning, but Platoon still took the top honors for Best Picture in 1987. My only complaint with the film perhaps was that it didn’t really need the voiceover narration from Charlie Sheen. Stone could’ve had enough faith in the audience and let them see what he wanted to say with the images alone and not spoon feed them with the narration. The excuse for its inclusion is that he is writing his grandmother, but there are things as the movie goes on that are evidently thrown in there so the audience could understand what he was thinking. It’s just a minor complaint because his character was still the easiest to identify with. The score and the cinematography are both effective and they enhance the horrors portrayed in this film. Platoon still manages to have an impact almost thirty years later and that is why it is a classic.

My Review: Born on the Fourth of July (8/10)

"I am the living death, a Memorial Day on wheels. I am your Yankee Doodle Dandy, your John Wayne come home, your Fourth of July firecracker exploding in the grave."

Oliver Stone won his second Oscar for Best Direction with Born on the Fourth of July and it also had to do with the Vietnam War just like his previous film Platoon. Stone was a Vietnam War veteran himself and by now we all know his political and ideological views which can be seen in most of his films. This movie focuses more on how the war impacted one individual and how his values changed over the course of time. It is based on the autobiographical book written by Ron Kovic who also worked with Oliver Stone on writing the screenplay. Kovic is known for being an anti-war spokesperson, but the film begins by exploring his early life and how he dreamt about being a war hero and a patriot. His values didn`t change even soon after he returned home and at first was hurt by all the protestors, but over time he changes and that is what the film explores more than the actual war itself. The movie studies the psychological impact the war had on this man who dreamt of becoming a war hero from his childhood only to be disillusioned by it after being severely wounded and left paralyzed from the chest down. Ron blindly wants to serve his country and states that he will gladly die in the war, but those of us who are familiar with his story know that his views will change over time and that is the major attraction this movie has. We want to discover how Ron made such an important transition in his life because we all know values are something men don`t easily change. The transformation that Kovic experiences from an innocent young kid to an anti-war spokesperson is the major attraction of the movie and Tom Cruise carries the movie with his very believable performance.

The movie opens with little Ronnie (Brian Larkin) playing outdoors with his friends from the neighborhood. He lives with his family in Massapequa, Long Island and grows up in a very patriotic and catholic household. He is raised by his father (Raymond J. Barry), a War Veteran himself, and mother (Caroline Kava), a devout catholic who teaches his son about fearing God and loving the country. Ronnie was born on the fourth of July so he remembers spending his birthdays watching the parade and recieving the War veterans as heroes. His childhood sweetheart is Donna(Jessica Prunell) who is always cheering for him at the local baseball games at which he excells. He was impacted by Kennedy`s inaugural speech and the film then jumps to his Senior year in High School where he was a wrestler. Ron (now played by Tom Cruise) continues to be shy and innocent and Donna (Kyra Sedqwick) is still in love with him. One day a recruiting marine officer (Tom Berenger) visits the High School and Ron is inspired by him to join the marines along with his friend Timmy (Frank Whaley), although his other buddy Steve (Jerry Levine) tries to convince them otherwise so that they study in college like him. Ron decides to go to war and there are a few strong battle scenes which impacted his life, first when he accidently kills women and children in the line of fire and then an american soldier, and later when he is severely wounded and becomes paralyzed from the chest down. The rest of the film explores the poor treatment he received at the hospital, his return home and how he became the man who he now is.

The film shouldn`t be seen as simply a war movie, it is an autobiography on Ron Kovic`s inspirational life and Tom Cruise plays his so well that the film succeeds. This is one of his best performances ever as we experience through him the transformation that Ron experiences. The scene where he runs in the rain to get to the prom and dance with Donna before leaving for the War reminds us of what his life could have been like if he stayed home. It was a very powerful and touching scene. There are also other great dramatic scenes like the breakdown he experiences at home with his mother and the conversation he has with Timmy once they both return from War. Willem Defoe has some interesting scenes as well as the friend Ron meets when he travels to Mexico. This is where Ron discovers he is just one of the many victims the insignificant war has left. I really enjoyed the story and even though it was probably a very personal movie for Oliver Stone and very biased, the story still worked because Ron Kovic himself worked with Stone on the screenplay. The movie was nominated for best screenplay although it didn`t win. The only other award it received, beside the best director, was for best editing although it was nominated in eight categories. I really enjoyed the score and cinematography that helped set the overall mood and efectiveness of the movie. I highly reccomend this film, whatever your feelings are towards Stone.

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