Redemption As Gritty As The Path Behind It

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2014)

To preface my review, I'll say that I am still amazed that I didn't see this film sooner than today. How it escaped even an accidental viewing is, especially considering my thoughts on it in retrospect and my love of war-based cinema, is baffling.
What might color the modern viewer who has yet to experience Born, as it did me, was the idea of Tom Cruise portraying a role more down to earth and realistic than we're used to seeing from the actor. Consider also that in 1989 he was just hitting his stride as a cinematic centerpiece along with the blunt force trauma he had to portray as real-life Vietnam veteran Ron Kovac, and the modern viewer is almost assured of having reservations. Watching some of the special features of my copy of the DVD makes me realize that even then, there were reservations about Cruise. At least outside of Oliver Stone and Ron Kovac, who were sold early on.
It takes maybe half the film until you start to understand it, but Cruise does sell it, and he sells with more honest integrity than I think he's put into any role in his career. It doesn't surprise me as much considering the room and avenues of expression Oliver Stone has traditionally given to his actors, but it does further cement Cruise as an actor of quality more so than quantity.
The film itself, and all of its particulars, offer sharp contrasts, bare humanity and the horrors we're capable of, and the eventual redemption of a man who I do believe, regardless of our own lives, anyone can relate to on some level. It is a story told many times, but this perspective, unique as all perspectives inherently are, is as vital to the entire story of the Vietnam War and ultimately of defining ourselves as any I've ever considered.
Whether or not Stone embellishes is not for me to say; I have yet (and I stress 'yet', as I do believe this film will lead me to reading the book Kovac wrote) to explore the particulars. But, in the end, it doesn't matter; the overall message is as clear as can be by the end. This is the story of a young man who believed and who was deceived, only to once again believe. Each step is fittingly littered with personal conflicts and triumphs, intimate encounters with people from various walks of life. It emphasizes the point that our own beliefs, our own deceptions, our own lives are the product of influence. What we perceive from our families, our friends, our media, inevitably colors our choices in life. For Kovac, these choices led to a swirling chaos of negative consequences. These negative consequences ultimately lead to the redeeming aspects of his later life, but the truth is always there, and it's an ugly truth. A haunting truth, brought to life by haunting moments.
What keeps me from considering this film as more than very good is an inherent disconnect of generations. While my generation will perhaps look back on our current conflicts in the Middle East the same way the Vietnam generation looks at their own conflicts and struggles, Oliver Stone was and, with Born, is a part of a generation that I am not. His perspective is not hard to relate to, but it is hard to understand.
Beyond that, the film has a handful of small issues that feel more like nitpicking but can't be avoided. The cinematography, while advanced for its time, doesn't lend itself as much to intimacy as it does to the swirl of conflict surrounding Kovac and America. The viewer often feels so swept up in the background that it can be difficult to spot and hone in on the essential point of specific scenes. Also, while I applaud Cruise's efforts in his role, he and several other actors are still either miscast or underutilized in my estimation. The storytelling of Oliver Stone, while easy to digest once the film is finished, is choppy and inconsistent, and I felt that certain moments were not given the emphasis they deserved in the overall story of Ron Kovac.
Despite the small flaws, I can't imagine nor have I witnessed a better overall portrayal of a war-torn life and the dirt, grime, pain and suffering that must be carried throughout such a life than this film offers. The gritty realism holds up even today, a time where we can often find more harrowing images on our local news than in this film. There is no individual scene or moment that defines Born On The Fourth Of July; it is a journey that resonates most strongly at its bittersweet conclusion.