Although
presumably a mere accident of production and distribution schedules, the
appearance of John McTiernan’s new film, Basic,
demonstrates the American film industry’s uncanny penchant for seizing the
moment. Just in time to jump on the war wagon, Hollywood once again releases a
military flick. The movie, however, suggests another, not entirely unknown
aspect of the armed services: their documented tendency, despite reiterated
public utterances about honor and integrity, to breed, then cover up, criminal
conduct.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The story concerns an official
investigation into a complicated and puzzling incident. It’s the sort of
military mystery that hints at a certain ambivalence about the institution, an
ambivalence that the recruiting posters and the media cheerleaders conveniently
ignore.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The military mystery, which often
turns into a courtroom drama, itself constitutes something of a subgenre of the
form, usually dealing with the efforts of a zealous, outranked appointed
attorney to determine the guilt or innocence of some unjustly accused
soldier/sailor/marine; e.g., A Soldier’s Story,
A Few Good Men, High Crimes. Other versions show an official military investigator
taking on the traditional role of the detective to discover the truth about
some crime, usually a murder. The official tries, in short, to find the answer
to the familiar question: Whodunit? The answer usually turns out to implicate
others in the higher echelons of the service hierarchy, e.g., Courage Under Fire, The General’s Daughter.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย In Basic, John Travolta, who portrayed a similar character in The General’s Daughter, plays Tom Hardy,
a former Army Ranger and current DEA agent with something of a shady
reputation, currently working in Panama. An old army buddy, Colonel Styles (Tim
Daly), requests his assistance in a puzzling incident. A brutal jungle training
mission, led by a cruel, sadistic sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson), has somehow
gone disastrously wrong, resulting in the apparent deaths of the sergeant and
four of the soldiers. The two survivors, one wounded, initially refuse to speak
of the incident to Styles’ officer in charge, Lieutenant Osborne (Connie
Nielsen). They then tell conflicting stories about the death of the sergeant
and their comrades.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The movie unfolds through flashbacks
Hardy elicits from the men during his interrogation. The frequent flashbacks
present the same events through a variety of points of view, as the soldiers’
stories change under the interrogator’s scrutiny. The tellings and retellings
of the story most obviously demonstrate a connection with that grand cinematic
chestnut, Rashomon. But they also
recall an older source: the complex narratives of some of the important
modernist artists, like Joyce, Faulkner, and Dos Passos. As in those works of
the past, the twists and turns of plot, character, and meaning suggest once
again that truth is a rare, and perhaps ultimately unknowable, entity.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย As the story shifts back and forth
from Hardy’s interrogation to the violent confusion of the training exercise,
reality itself begins to change. His combination of psychological manipulation,
imaginative insight, logical reasoning, and bold leaps of intuition show how
the detective himself can create the facts he seeks. Following one of the great
traditions of the thriller, nothing in the story ever remains stable. People
and actions undergo an almost constant metamorphosis, always turning into
someone or something else. By the end of the movie, as the mysteries spiral
into ever greater complication, almost everyone, from the detective to the
criminals, reveals another meaning, another self.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The script and direction maintain a fine
sense of pace, as incidents multiply and change, spawning ever increasing
confusion. Moreover, both the mystery and its solution provide just the sort of
satisfying puzzle that only a fictional criminal could invent and only a
fictional detective could solve. Many of the people and events border on the
purely preposterous, which even the director’s sleight-of-hand and clever
footwork cannot entirely obscure. The generally compelling and entertaining
narrative moves quickly enough to gloss over the utterly factitious construct
that lies beneath the several layers of mystery and obfuscation.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Travolta dominates the movie with a
good deal of offhand, wise-guy charm and a quite imposing physical presence.
Alternately funny, angry, violent, and always ironic, he handles the not
entirely pure and admirable character of Tom Hardy with considerable aplomb.
Connie Nielsen, as the officer who reluctantly works with Travolta, attains an
acceptable level of competence, while Samuel L. Jackson, as the sadistic sergeant,
pretty much imitates all the brutal drill instructors in all the military
movies in Hollywood’s long, heroic past.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย If one character sums up the film’s
credibility problems, it must be Giovanni Ribisi, who plays an Army Ranger.
Ribisi is a perfectly competent actor, but also a wispy, diminutive fellow who
hardly looks big enough and strong enough to qualify for the Cub Scouts, let
alone the elite Rangers, who rappel out of helicopters and kill people with
their teeth. His casting suggests some of the curious thinking behind Basic.
Basic, starring
John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van
Holt, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Cristian De La Fuente, Dash Mihok, Roselyn Sanchez,
Harry Connick, Jr.; screenplay by James Vanderbilt; directed by John McTiernan.
Cinemark Tinseltown; Hoyts Greece Ridge; Loews Webster; Pittsford Plaza Cinema;
Regal Culver Ridge; Regal Eastview; Regal Henrietta.
You
can hear George and his movie reviews on WXXI-FM 91.5 Fridays at 7:15 a.m., rerun
on Saturdays at 11:15 a.m.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2003.
