Flags
of Our Fathers is the latest effort from the iconic Clint Eastwood. Following
back to back career highlights (Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby), Mr. Eastwood
has decided to tackle World War II, and while his effort doesn't pack the same
emotional or visceral wallop of Steven Spielberg's masterful Saving Private Ryan,
that really isn't it's intent (although, this picture does sort of serve as a
nice companion piece to the Spielberg epic).
Flags
of Our Fathers follows the lives of the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, an
event that would prompt a photographer to take one of the most famed photos of
all time. But rather than concentrating on the nightmarish horrors of war, Flags
of Our Fathers settles into a depiction of our perception of heroes and how many
of those we deem heroes, don't find themselves to be heroic at all. Many of these
men did fight for the cause, but some fought simply to protect their brothers.
Flags
of Our Fathers follows John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Ira Hayes (Adam Beach),
and Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), three men who became instant celebrities because
of the famed flag raising photo, even though there is question as to whether or
not they raised the actual flag.
As
these men return home to their new found fame, they find it increasingly difficult
to cope with the world's perception of them, none more so than Native-American
Ira Hayes, a man who harbors so much guilt and is so stricken with nightmarish
visions of what he saw in the battlefield, that he turns to the bottle for comfort.
Flags
of Our Fathers is a flag waver of a film, but it's an incredibly subtle one. Perhaps
too subtle. Eastwood isn't terribly interested in the war itself, but rather the
after effects of the war. This isn't to say Eastwood doesn't know how to shoot
a battle. He certainly does. The sweeping shots of ships making their way towards
the beach of the enemy, are simply breathtaking and the fighter plane sequences
are equally impressive. Furthermore, the early moments of the picture do offer
up a fair share of brutal combat carnage.
Most
of the film, however, features our three leads dealing with life as they return
home. In a way, this movie sort of feels like it's filling in the quiet, outer
edges of Saving Private Ryan. In "Flags," we see who these me are before
they storm the beach. In "Private Ryan" we see what happens on the beach.
In "Flags" we see what happens to these men as a result of battle. In
"Private Ryan" we see the battle.
Flags
of Our Fathers was written by Jarhead scribe William Broyles Jr. (with an assist
by Crash writer/director Paul Haggis) and it should come as no surprise that Steven
Spielberg co-Produced the film with Eastwood. Spielberg is a historian of sorts
and is greatly intrigued by World War II, no doubt because his father was a veteran.
Between Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and now Flags of Our Fathers, the
film maker has been behind three very diverse and intimate views of this war.
Clint
Eastwood has fashioned what is perhaps his biggest film in terms of overall scope
(and in fact, look for his next picture–next year's Letters From Iwo Jima
–which takes a look at the same events from the Japanese point of view),
but I wouldn't rank this with the likes of Unforgiven, Mystic River, or Million
Dollar Baby. Given it's serious subject matter, I expected a bit more dramatic
weight. Having said that, I still admire the film for it's scope, it's restrained,
quiet nature, and for Eastwood's masterful ability at working with actors.
Ryan
Phillippe is solid as John Bradley, one of the men who finds himself an unlikely
celebrity. Barry Pepper brings humanity and energy in a supporting role as Mike
Strank, a highly driven and extremely loyal platoon sergeant. It is Adam Beach,
however, who owns the film as soldier Ira Hayes. He's so good in the role, that
he pretty much dwarfs the rest of the cast with his sincerity and vulnerability.
Some might argue that his turning to the bottle is nothing but a cheap stereotype,
but Beach transcends that argument with his effective portrayal of a man torn
in two. Of the entire cast, it is Jesse Bradford who leaves the least memorable
impression as soldier Rene Gagnon. This isn't to say this is a bad performance.
It's a major step up from his work in Clockstoppers and Swimfan, but he is unable
to match the power supplied by his more tried and true co-stars.
You
may recognize several other faces amongst the cast including Gordon Clapp (the
nebbish Greg Medavoy in NYPD Blue) in a surprisingly commanding bit part as General
Smith, David Patrick Kelly (so memorable as the weasely Sully in the 80's Schwarzenegger
action staple Commando) as Harry S. Truman (no, I'm not kidding), Neil McDonough
(Minority Report, NBC's short lived Boomtown) in his second military role in the
last month (you can also see him in The Guardian), and Mr. Personality (Paul Walker)
in a low key turn as soldier Hank Hansen.
Flags
of Our Fathers turned out to be quite a bit different than I thought it would
be. It is patriotic and it is stunning to look at, but by spending only about
twenty percent of the film in battlefield action, and the majority at home after
the war, we don't get a true sense of what these men went through. I suppose Eastwood
and Broyles Jr. felt that we've seen enough movies on the subject to know what
they went through, but the end result makes the movie feel a little incomplete.
Again though, it should be noted, that Eastwood is putting the finishing touches
on Letters From Iwo Jima as I write this. I'll wait and pass final judgement once
I've seen that. For the time being, Flags of Our Fathers is a solid effort from
a legendary film maker who continues to take chances with each passing project.
