The Thin Red Line (1998)

Brief: Introspective look at the conflict at Guadalcanal (in the South Pacific) during World War II. Although an ensemble piece, focuses mainly on a wayward Private (Jim Caviezel), his Sergeant (Sean Penn), and the Lieutenant Colonel (Nick Nolte) leading them into battle.

This movie came out after Saving Private Ryan, and, although I recall some kind words, what most people said was that it was no Saving Private Ryan. Well, that's true. But who said it was trying to be Saving Private Ryan?

Writer and director Terrance Malick adapted James Jones' autobiographical novel. It's apparently a limited omniscient autobiographical tale. The film works by bringing you into a close-up of a certain character, then you get to hear his thoughts. In addition, there is no character named Jones that I could find. So, I figured it's considered autobiographical because he was there, but Malick took the film in another direction. I've never seen anything else Malick has written or directed, so I have no idea whether this is a habit of his.

Now, when I said ensemble, I was dead serious. This is almost as ensemble as they come. And you know that nothing makes me more excited than a well done ensemble. Penn is billed above title, and the rest are listed alphabetically, which is odd, as I believe Nolte has the biggest part, then Caviezel. In any case, I will tell you some of the faces I recognized; Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harleson, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Dash Mihok, Tim Blake Nelson, John C. Reilly, and John Travolta. I felt that the uber-talent (and beautiful) Brody was wasted given that he had only a handful of lines. Chaplin does a fair bit of narration, all about his wife, and he was pretty darn good. I already liked Chaplin, but I didn't know how nice his voice was to listen to prior to this.

I confess, I do not know what the thin red line is/means. Honestly, I don't think they came right out and said that in the film, and I didn't pick up on the symbolism. In fact, at the end of the film, I was thinking, "The thin red line between what and what? between what and what?!" See, I was pissed because the movie is so long (170 mins), yet I had no clue what the title referred to.

Oh, yeah, Hans Zimmer scored the movie. Hans Zimmer scores everything. And he does it really well. Enough about that.

So, to sum, great cast, long, no Saving Private Ryan. If you want Saving Private Ryan, though, go out and rent Saving Private Ryan. That should solve all your problems right quick.