Tags
1990's, Courage Under Fire, Denzel Washington, Drama, Edward Zwick, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon, Meg Ryan, Michael Moriarty, Scott Glenn, Seth Gilliam, Tim Guinee, War
Film Title
Courage Under Fire
Director
Edward Zwick
Starring
- Denzel Washington as Lieutenant Colonel Nat Serling
- Meg Ryan as Captain Karen Walden
- Lou Diamond Phillips as Staff Sergeant John Monfriez
- Matt Damon as Specialist Ilario
- Michael Moriarty as Brigadier General Hershberg
- Scott Glenn as Tony Gartner
- Tim Guinee as Warrant Officer Rady
- Seth Gilliam as Sergeant Altameyer
A gripping drama, with the Gulf War as the main backdrop, Courage Under Fire examines how elusive it can be to get to the bottom of the truth and the haunting spectre of war. With intelligence and effective performances, Courage Under Fire becomes a story driven by emotion rather than just a generic war drama.
Dedicated Lieutenant Colonel Nat Serling served during the Gulf War were he experienced something that will haunt him forever. While engaged in combat, he gave an order to shoot what he thought was an enemy tank. It turned out that the tank was in fact one of his own and in effect he killed one of his closest friends. Reeling from this, Nat struggles to cope with this burden, while the army covered up the knowledge of friendly fire. Nat falls into sorrow and can barely hold it together when he is then given a new assignment. He is to evaluate the posthumous candidacy of Captain Karen Walden, a pilot who helped save the lives of many men whose helicopter was shot down, for the Medal of Honor. Although she saved the lives of many, Karen in turn died during later events that crumbling Serling attempts to piece together. He goes about this assignment by talking with members of her team. But Nat soon learns that no two stories are the same. The traumatised medic on the mission Ilario paints Karen as a heroic woman who wouldn’t give up, whereas the Staff Sergeant Monfriez bitterly denounces her as a coward who endangered those around her. The other two people who were there, Warrant Officer Rady who was brutally injured and Sergeant Altameyer both are in no fit state to talk as Rady was unconscious for most of the time and Altameyer is slowly dying. With all these discrepancies and inconsistencies surrounding this, it isn’t going to be easy getting to the bottom of this case. Matters aren’t helped by Tony Gartner, a journalist who is skulking around and Nat’s superior General Hershberg putting pressure on him to finish the job. Nat must now piece together the final moments of Karen’s life to determine if she deserves the award and also confront the possibility of a cover up surrounding her untimely death.
A lot of the gripping power that is derived from Courage Under Fire comes courtesy of director Edward Zwick. Through his deft direction, he presents many plausible angles to the unraveling case that Nat must contend with in order to get to the truth. Zwick brings the intelligently written screenplay to life, capturing the destructive effects the war can have on people’s minds and themes such as self-honour, bravery and deception. And I must commend the film for managing to balance intense scenes of war with drama, and keeping it all together. Courage Under Fire has a lot of power going for it and the structure of it, which allows us to see differing perspectives that could be lies or the truth. It’s only in the last half of the movie that the emotional parts begin to get a bit out of hand, but throughout the majority of it, Courage Under Fires manages to keep you invested and not go overboard on things. The overdoing of emotions in the last half is the only real flaw in a film that is done with clarity and control. The cinematography provided by Roger Deakins is exemplary in its use of colours, from the orange hues of the desert to the grey that suggests the emotional fracturing of minds and the damaging fallout from war, the visuals are a highlight of style here. A slowly building score from James Horner underpins the search for the truth and Nat’s personal demons that he can’t let go of.
Courage Under Fire is given a whole lot of power and heft due to the strongly assembled cast. In the lead role of the troubled Nat, Denzel Washington excels. He never overplays his emotions but lets us glimpse the way that his experience in war has torn him apart and how being assigned this case is a way for him to do something good. Washington exudes a sympathetic decency that is hard to deny and the need to bring the long-buried truth to the surface. In a particular difficult role, Meg Ryan is excellent as the deceased Karen who is portrayed through the eyes of others as many things. Ryan delves into the part and shows us the sides to this tough woman that others witnessed, that could be the truth or lies. Thankfully, instead of over complicating the part, Meg Ryan lends each side of what the character may be plausibility that rings true. Lou Diamond Phillips makes his mark as the arrogant, macho Monfriez who often thinks of himself as higher than his rank. It is Matt Damon who really caught my eye in this movie as the traumatised and drug-addicted Ilario. It has been well-documented the physical transformation that Damon made for the part that lead to health problems for him at the time. But as physically convincing as Damon is, with his gaunt face and emaciated physique, it’s the emotion that he puts into the part that really stands out. In supporting roles, Michael Moriarty and Scott Glenn are well served as Serling’s superior and an opportunistic journalist. Tim Guinee and Seth Gilliam are less well served as two of the men who were in rescue with Karen, but both of them still give credibility to their parts.
An intriguing war drama that is well-paced and acted with power by the cast, Courage Under Fire is filled with a deep sense of urgency to compliment the deep themes it covers and grips you with.
riverqueengroup.com said:
Reblogged this on International Gay Guide To Asia & Cambodia and commented:
“An intriguing war drama that is well-paced and acted with power by the cast, Courage Under Fire is filled with a deep sense of urgency to compliment the deep themes it covers and grips you with.”
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charlypriest said:
what I got from this movie is all the debate about women being in combat, but was a nice film though.
Another great one “A few good men”. And even though that one bashes the extreme techniques of the Marines, I actually had a debate with a familly member that I agreed with the Coronel (played by Jack Nicholson) who should be the villan, but i see him as the one that puts into perspective what the military is all about specially in the last scene the famous part when he goes on a mononlogue that include the cool sentence “You can´t handle the truth!!”
Both of these are good ones, even if I don´t agree with the message.
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vinnieh said:
I love A Few Good Men, what a superb cast it had.
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charlypriest said:
I was going to say that, a great cast. The other guy that´s the side kick to Tom Cruise (don´t know his name) but is just perfect sidekick to balance out the Cruise character, Demi Moore also great to support Cruise and then Jack, he played that role perfect. In my opinion he plays all the roles perfect.
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vinnieh said:
When you assemble a cast like that, it’s good to see it work so everyone is given something to do.
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beetleypete said:
I found this to be watchable, if overwhelmed by the usual American slant on how heroic their combat troops are. The cast kept me interested most of the time, and were all well-chosen for their roles. I would exclude Meg Ryan from that statement though, as I didn’t buy into her as a combat soldier at all. And the message about the attitudes to women in the military was handled rather clumsily, I thought. It works best as a mystery drama, a sort of Agatha Christie set around the Gulf War. At that level, it is enjoyable enough to watch.
Nice review, V. You got the whole film in there!
Best wishes, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
Agatha Christie set around the Gulf War, I like that analogy Pete. Very observant.
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Paul S said:
I remember Courage Under Fire as being a decent re-tread of Kurasawa’s Rashomon, although it’s been a long time since I last watched it. I enjoyed it back in 1996. I’m not sure what I’d make of it now.
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vinnieh said:
I find the various view points fascinating to view.
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movierob said:
always enjoy this movie. The Rashoman kind of storytelling si always fun to watch unfold. Nice job Vinnie!
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vinnieh said:
The differing perspectives that could either be the truth or lies does make for an intriguing watch Rob.
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movierob said:
Definitely!
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kmSalvatore said:
hmm, don think ive ever seen this, ill be sure to look around for it. thanks Vinnie
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vinnieh said:
I hope you like it.
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emmakwall said:
Excellent stuff Vinster! You ALWAYS review cool films that I haven’t seen, always!
Right, I’m checking out this latest bum post now 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Hi Emma, I try to remain as cool as a cucumber in every part of life, including movie watching. Don’t know if I’m successful at it or not.
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emmakwall said:
You are 🙂
You’re one cool cucumber!
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vinnieh said:
Aww, that warms my heart to hear you say that.
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emmakwall said:
Good!
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vinnieh said:
Seriously though it means a lot.
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Keith said:
Fabulous review. I have never seen this entire movie and you have me feeling ashamed for that. Definitely need to see it through.
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vinnieh said:
I have a feeling this film would intrigue you Keith. The whole framework of different recounting of events is very fascinating and creates a mystery.
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In My Cluttered Attic said:
I remember the film being pretty good, but like beetleypete, found Meg Ryan’s performance not always convincing. However, Edward Zwick has displayed a knack for making very emotional films about people in battle. Most notable was the film “Glory” and the trials the 54th went through during the Civil War. As you may recall, Denzel Washington was outstanding in that movie as well. I had forgotten that Matt Damon was in this film. Perhaps that was due to his emaciated appearance. I was a big fan of Meg Ryan films at the time, and so it was a little disappointing to see her performance here not resonate as I had hoped it would.
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vinnieh said:
I personally liked Ryan, but to each their own. Zwick really has a knack for movies that include both physical and emotional battles.
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ruth said:
Hi Vinnie! It’s been ages since I saw it so I barely remember this one. I usually like Ryan in her rom-coms so it was interesting seeing her in this role.
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vinnieh said:
It’s quite a departure from her romantic roles. I was impressed by her work here.
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ruth said:
Indeed. I think she’s more versatile than people give her credit for. Hope to see you around FC soon Vin!
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vinnieh said:
I promise to be around your site more Ruth, I must apologise for my absence. Just had a few things that have interrupted blogging.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Fantastic review Vinnie! I was surprised by how much I liked Meg Ryan in this. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
I’d only really seen her in romantic movies so this was a change of pace.
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Paul S said:
I thought Meg was fine here, but then I always preferred her gritty, angrier work in films like Flesh and Bone and When a Man Loves a Woman to her cute schtick rom-com persona.
By the way, would you mind if I re-blogged this review?
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vinnieh said:
I liked seeing a serious side to her, she really excelled. You can re blog this yes, thanks for praising my review.
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fonzandcancer said:
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vinnieh said:
I was happy to follow your blog, it is really inspiring to read.
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fonzandcancer said:
Thanks that’s really kind…😊
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vinnieh said:
It’s true.
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liverpoolmunky76 said:
Enjoyable review, lots of good points, well made
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vinnieh said:
Thank you so much, that means a lot.
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abbiosbiston said:
I feel like I’ve seen this because I remember the Matt Damon part but that’s about it.
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vinnieh said:
I’d try and watch this again Abbi to refresh your memory.
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