If only, if only...

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 1999)

"Gettysburg" is certainly an impressive achievement, given the complexity of the storyline and the sheer logistics involved. Having accomplished so much, its "might have beens" take on added significance. The long speeches seldom ring true; the bloodless, comic book battle scenes trivialize incredible bravery in the face of overwhelming carnage. And the "lean, mean fighting machine" that was the Army of Northern Virginia is largely, and I do mean largely, composed of overage, overweight extras. Yes, I know re-enactors eat well--but couldn't the more obvious examples have been hidden deep in the ranks? Four minutes into the movie, I winced as reality was shattered by a grossly corpulent picket--how tough would it have been to cast a more believable actor in a simple, inexpensive "day-player" role? With all respect to the dedication and perseverance of the director, who fought to get this important picture made, it's not surprising that we've haven't seen more of Mr. Maxwell on the Big Screen. The whole thing was a bit ham handed--I often felt like I was watching a tableau, with sweeping dolly shots and woodenly staged foreground and background action. I didn't buy the carefully placed "artillery" pyrotechnics, rather benign white puffs of smoke eliciting not so much as a flinch from men 10 feet away (during dialogue scenes) while decimating entire ranks during battle scenes. None of this would matter so much if the picture hadn't been so powerful and rife with potential--a simply brilliant performance by Jeff Daniels, and solid support by Richard Jordan, Sam Elliott, and Tom Berenger. Heck, even Martin Sheen was fairly watchable, despite my initial incredulity at his casting. I wish more of the dialogue had played as "thoughts," in the style of the book upon which the movie was based. It would have cut down on the monologues. If only, if only...nonetheless, a very worthwhile experience. Kudos for the effort.