On HBO
In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Strobl (Kevin Bacon) analyzes Marine troop strengths in Iraq out of Quantico, VA. At night, he has trouble sleeping and looks up the KIA list from Iraq. Eventually, he finds a fallen marine named Chance Phelps who’s from his hometown in Colorado. Strobl requests escort duty which is required for all deceased soldiers and rare for an officer to do. As he travels with the body (eventually to Dubois, Wyoming where Chance’s parents now live), he’ll meet people from all walks of life who show respect and honor for Corporal Phelps . . .
Bacon is beautifully restrained, emanating a quiet dignity that rings true.
The supporting cast is uniformly strong, carving out 3-dimensional characters in only one or two scenes at the most (though Tom Wopat is a little too iconic for people my age to not be distracting). First-time director Ross Katz is highly efficient and achieves fully formed family relationships with a few short scenes. There are also several pure-cinema (no dialogue) scenes which are very touching. You’d think the subject matter would lend itself to an overly melancholic or despondent atmosphere, but Katz finds just the right balance and nicely turns the story into a celebration of a short life well-lived and life lessons learned. Katz is the twice Oscar nominated producer of In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation and the rhythm of the editing and frequent quiet moments feel similar to those great movies. The music is effective without being overbearing and there are several beautifully lit sunset scenes.
This is the best Iraq War film to date (I consider Three Kings a Gulf War film). The other films thus far (see here) were so obviously drenched in politics that their grandstanding got in the way of a coherent plot. Taking Chance makes its political points much more subtly (the ridiculous airport screenings, the shameful lack of flak jackets for the troops). Part of the power of the film is its depiction of coffins covered in American flags (which were forbidden by the Bush Administration) as well as the cleaning of the body by morticians. The multiple crucifixes shown are also powerfully used. And it’s nice to see “flyover country” shown honorably and realistically. This will probably remain the best 78 minutes of 2009 for many months. A-
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Taking Chance - A-
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3 comments:
very nice. i wish i had hbo for this one.
Watched it tonight. A moving, simple film. It was hard to distance Bacon's Marine from his recent turn in Frost/Nixon and his lawyer in A Few Good Men - but I agree his restraint was amazing and he shows his emotions without really saying much. I'd probably give it a B+, as a documentary about the same subject would probably be nearly as touching. I nearly cried about 4 times - sometimes as a parent, sometimes as an American.
B+ is fair, certainly if compared to a theatrical release. But I elevated it since I haven't been moved this much by anything in years - except for Once and Cinerella Man. I agree a documentary would probably get close, but couldn't get the fantastic sequence with the car lights or the montage of all the people that Strobl met on his way to Wyoming.
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