Gritty Tale of State Dept Ineptitude and Combat Bravery

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2002)

I was fortunate enough to get a copy of "Black Hawk Down" from my neighbor who is a voting member of the Academy. I wa glad because I was unsure whether I would go to the theatre to watch a Jerry Bruckheimer production. In addition, although I liked Gladiator, I thought Ridley Scott truly over-aggrandized that movie, with the first half quite moving, and the second sappy and melodramatic. Wow was I surprised. The sepia, gold-gray tones Scott and his DP chose were quite gripping. This confused, muddled event was further accentuated by this choice in film. I do agree with one reviewer who said it became confusing to see the same white faced soldiers with helmets.
I read the book and have to say that the movie was extremely true to the book, following it almost event for event. A few dramatic pieces were inserted to enhance characters, but it did not detract from the seam of the story. I believe the constant barage of chaos additionally drove home the clusterf*** that this event was. This film exonerates the soldiers, lifting them to tragic hero status, without over-dramatizing and without waving a flag in your face. The subtleness of Scott's hand makes it quite clear, as did the book, that the bureaucracy of the leadership of the entire events in Somalia and this one day excursion is the cause of such horrible loss. I was surprised at the number os British and Australian actors in the film who suppressed their native accents. Only Ewen McGregor slipped a bit when he was buried in the dirt, and William Fichtner pulled him out and ask if he was o.k. McGregor said, "I hear bells." with a bit of his Scottish brough emanating.
I would put Black Hawk Down in league with such war movies as "A Thin Red Line" because of his subtle criticism of war, and its down played drama. It evokes surreal memories of "Full Metal Jacket" without inserting the detachment that Kubrick used. For one who immediately turns his nose up at any Jerry Bruckheimer film, this was solid. The only other Bruckheimer produced film that I enjoyed in the past few years was "Enemy of the State". Probably because of Tony Scott. But two big zeros for "Pearl Harbor" and "Armaggedon".