A innocent casualty fuels an engrossing Vietnam drama

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2014)

This time around, here's a Vietnam pic of a different sort. Shockingly based on a real incident, revenge hungry soldier (Penn) and his squad kidnap a young female villager, and subject her to a brutal rape, then a shocking execution, that pangs a memory when I think about it visually. In my opinion all voluntary participants, should of faced a firing squad. The only one truly against is Fox, miscast as a nicey nicey soldier, we can see why he was chosen. This rape part of the film is very hard to watch, and will easily offend some, more so if have being raped in real life. It's up to Fox, who unthankfully was rescued by Penn, much earlier, when caught in a pickle, to make things right, and he does, going up against his squad, reporting the crime. Even though Penn does overact some, he's character great here, as Seargeant Meserve, a man of frightening intensity and remorselessness, as if he's lost complete touch with humanity, much like a machine, while too, we have John C Reilly and John Leguizamo, before they were known, playing two reluctant GI'S, forced participants in the rape. Even though Fox, does get on your goat a bit, you do admire his mettle and defiance, when doing the right thing, and getting none too thanks for it, brazenly telling his uncompassionate corporal (Dale Dye, from platoon) to go to hell. The same goes for another corporal type (Ving Rhames) delivering a monologue, concerning an incident from the old days, this matter of plain cold murder, just something to brush under the carpet, was something I must say, I found truly angering. The violence is quite rough too, like one vet, a backward sort, hitting a booby trap. Fox's slightly drunken confession I found quite moving though. Of course, the catalyst, for Penn's vent of revenge, culminating in that innocent, unwarranted killing, was his close squad mate, buying it early in the flick. The music is soothingly beautiful, I must say. I really didn't think, Casualties Of War had a plot, as I just wrote it off, as a just another Vietnam, no plot flick, but this is a film that should be seen, life from the other side of Vietnam, a despicable and unforgivable act, where really with the exception of Fox, and those two others mentioned who got appropriate sentences, Penn, and his inhuman psycho, hate filled mate, who I found detestable (the Stephen Baldwin lookalike guy) should of just of fried. What was odd, which didn't make Fox convincing was at the start and the end (the same scene, a nice touch) while having bad recollections on the bus, of those days gone by, it's hard to believe he looked like something who'd been in Vietnam. But for most part as a Vietnam Vet, Fox is embarrassingly unconvincing. Otherwise this Vietmam pic, is a recommended view.