A (good) mixed bag

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2004)

Spoilers
The opening Private-Ryan-type carnage signals a sweeping war epic. The focus however is soon narrowed to a head-to-head personal duel that is almost Kirk Douglas' 'A gunfight' just set to a different arena. Then, thrown in for good measure is a love triangle that carries even a faint flavor of Cyrano de Bergerac!
Anyone interested in the history of WWII would have some idea of the Siege of Stalingrad, which some Russians claim to be the real turning point of the war, rather than the Normandy landings. A sniper duel however, I suspect, would be a bit of a novelty. Built on this interesting premise, the several encounters between talented Russian farm-boy-turned-sharp-shooter Vassili (Jude Law) and German veteran sniper-instructor Konig (Ed Harris) follow one after another very well in mounting up the tension. An apparently somewhat out-classed underdog, Vassili losses a couple of comrades in the earlier encounters, without getting even as much as a glimpse of his deadly opponent. Then, completely nailed down as a sitting duck, he miraculously turns things around with his quick wits and a little help from sweetheart Tania (Rachel Weisz), drawing a little blood from the formidable opponent. A sniper duel is much more difficult to sell because the character, unlike in a fast draw showdown where he stands up front with 'hero' written all over his face, hides behind cover. What excites the audience, and this takes a little bit of doing, is the realization from earlier depictions that if the character gets just as much as a small part of his face exposed, he is as good as dead. In the final duel, therefore, when one of the adversaries walks into the open thinking that he has already shot his opponent, we know that it's all over. With this handicap, i.e. the lack of a clear visual impact of a fast-draw gunfight, the final duel in Enemy at the Gates is still very well made.
Although the focus of the movie zeroes in quickly onto the sniper duel, the backdrop of the war at (and also behind) the Russian front is always there. Khrushchev as depicted in the movie in more along the line of a caricature. The theme of manufacturing a war hero that ultimately is too big for the incumbent to carry does give most fruit for thought.
The love story is run-of-the-mill but the sex scene that takes place right in the middle of a crowded war camp covered with sleeping soldiers is quite ingenious, deserving an honorable mention.
The acting is good all around. Law two years before Cold Mountain is in fine shape, even better than in Cold Mountain in some ways. Versatile Harris's Captain Konig is not the most challenging role in the some half-dozen films he made in 2001/2 (which included The Hours for which he got an Oscar 'supporting' nomination). Harris' acting caliber however makes the character less one-dimensional than what it otherwise would be. Shedding his Elizabethan persona, Joseph Fiennes becomes a Russian war officer developing towards ruthlessness as the heat intensifies. Sandwiched between her two 'Mummy' appearances, Weisz has a role of a standard war heroine, not a particularly inspiring role but one she handles well, and a good step in the development of her career.