|
HOME OF THE BRAVE (2006) Send This Review to a Friend
One of the important aspects of the Iraq war goes beyond the nearly 3000 American servicemen killed. There is the neglected story of the some 20,000 wounded, many of them seriously physically or psychologically. The press and the country have not dealt sufficiently with this horrific aspect of the misbegotten invasion. Director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Mark Friedman honorably plunge into this territory, but with mixed results.
There are poignant portraits of surviving veterans told in a rather heavy-handed style. We first see a National Guard unit of combatants in Iraq scheduled to be sent home shortly. We immediately know, of course, that disaster with strike first, as it does when the troops run into an ambush that is vividly depicted.
Jessica Biel as Vanessa, a mother, loses a hand, and upon returning to Spokane, Washington, rejects her boyfriend. Samuel L. Jackson as Will Marsh, a medic, is a mental mess and starts drinking when he returns home to his role as a doctor and issues with his wife and son. Curtis Jackson as Jamal Aiken seethes with dangerous anger. Brian Presley as Tommy Yates is haunted by having seen his best friend killed.
The film records their struggles, and some of the scenes are quite moving. The film is obviously trying to be a sort of update on the post-World War II film “The Best Years of Our Lives.” But despite good intentions, at times the dramatization is pedestrian.
More importantly, “Home of the Brave” fudges on the war. It is on target in terms of its portrayals of the ghastly results. But the resolution for one of the survivors is to return to the war to keep faith with those who have fought and died. That could be a logical step for a particular character in the film. However, by putting this sentiment at the end of the film, whether intentionally or not, it leaves an impression in tune with the Bush Administration’s determination to stay the course and refusal to admit error despite the disaster it has brought upon America and the Middle East by its gigantic misstep. A Metro Goldwyn Mayer release.
|