Casualties Of War is one of those films where one performance brings down the entire exercise. For example, Glory, a film that should have been a shoe-in for best picture of 1989 with Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman delivering two incredible performances, did not win, largely because of the totally miscast Matthew Broderick. His acting is fine, but in the consciousness of most moviegoers, Matthew Broderick is and always will be Ferris Bueller. The same problem can be found with Casualties Of War. Sean Penn gives a riveting performance, his first truly remarkable role in a film and I am including his great turns in Fast Times At Ridgemont High and The Falcon and the Snowman. But Penn’s performance gets equal screen time with Michael J. Fox. Now, Fox gives us the best he has got, but what do we as moviegoers see?: Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties and Back to the Future‘s Marty McFly. Actors like Broderick, Fox, Brendan Fraser and Ted Danson, to name a few, are unfortunately in the position of having to overcome screen and television roles that they cannot shake. If Timothy Hutton, Robert Downey Jr. or River Phoenix had been cast instead of Fox, I would probably consider Casualties Of War one of the best films made about the Vietnam War.
The story, written by playwright David Rabe is based on a true story by American soldier Daniel Lang. Fox plays Eriksson, a wet-behind-the-ears infantry recruit sent to Vietnam who joins up with four who have already completed a tour of duty. Sean Penn plays Sergeant Meserve, in a truly sadistic performance as a platoon leader who forces the others to take a Vietnamese woman from a small village along with them for sexual purposes. There are a few scenes of real combat but the film focuses on the tension that builds between Eriksson, who refuses to rape the girl, and Meserve who convinces all of the others that they should. Fine supporting performances by John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo and Don Harvey round out this five man group who are not only fighting the war in Vietnam but a private war among themselves. The woman, Oahn, is played by Thuy Thu Le in her only screen role.
The film begins and ends after the war is over, with Eriksson recalling what happened in Southeast Asia via an extended flashback. There are also scenes from a later trial. Brian De Palma, who had just come off his best film (The Untouchables), brings light to a subject that had been touched on but never fully realised in previous films about the war in Vietnam. The sexual sadism of those in combat and the loss of all moral values are not subjects that fit well with mainstream Hollywood and yet De Palma tackles these issues head-on in what is a powerfully anti-war film. It does not delve into the political consequences of whether the Americans should be there, as was central in Oliver Stone’s trilogy, nor does it focus on the after effects of combat in films like The Deer Hunter and Coming Home. This film is unique in the sense that it narrows in on a subject that is part of every war but is rarely discussed. For all its merits, either Penn gives too good a performance or Fox cannot make the transition to big screen drama. It just does not work in certain scenes, reducing this film from the status of cinema classic. However, it still qualifies as one of De Palma’s best and certainly Penn’s best 1980s role.
Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox star in Brian De Palma’s Vietnam drama about a group of infantrymen fighting their own personal war. John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Don Harvey, and Thuy Thu Le co-star.- Jamie Gillies
