A masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2001)

It is debatable whether or not Francis Ford Coppola succeeds in taking us to the "heart of darkness" with this movie, but he certainly shows us, in unique, surreal and indelible images, the monstrosities and absurdities of war. Set pieces like the Wagnerian helicopter attack on a village, the jungle "centrefold" concert, the sampan massacre, the defence of the bridge, and the scenes in Kurtz's temple compound all brilliantly illustrate how war blurs the distinctions between heroism and murder, sanity and madness, truth and myth.
As Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) journeys up the river towards its source, towards the dark heart of Col Kurtz (Marlon Brando), he also journeys towards the source of his own darkness. In finally confronting Kurtz, he confronts part of himself. He has the choice of taking Kurtz's place, and like Kurtz giving himself over entirely to darkness, to horror; of becoming one of the "hollow men" of the T S Eliot poem Kurtz reads out. Or of leaving horror and the jungle behind -even if only temporarily - and travelling back down river. In choosing this latter course, Willard chooses the possibility - no matter how remote - of lightening his heart.
The film is probably best regarded as episodic, rather than as a narrative. Indeed, it falters when it tries to tie its parts together tightly and logically, via Willard's voice-over. Likewise, as important as Joseph Conrad's original story is for providing the main theme and plot outline, it would have been better if Coppola had not followed it in certain details, particularly Conrad's hinting that Kurtz has gone over the edge because of the influence of "primitive" rituals. As Coppola graphically demonstrates in the gunship and napalming sequences, "advanced" people need no instruction in savage practices from "primitive" people.
The performances are dominated by Robert Duvall's surfing-mad, napalm-loving Lt Col Gilmore; and by Brando, who convincingly conveys - sometimes simply by his silent presence - the complexity of the human mind and spirit. In my view, Dennis Hopper's naive and incoherent hippie photographer is given too much screen time. Sheen, apart from his dramatic scenes at the beginning and end of the film, generally plays a passive role, and his part seems under-written in the scenes on the boat - but this may be due to his sickness during the making of the movie.
But the film belongs not to the actors but to Coppola, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and the editors. From the first hypnotic whirrings and images of helicopters and a ceiling fan to the last mutterings by Sheen of "horror", the movie sucks you into its bizarre world. Despite its flaws, this is a masterpiece of film making.