The Matthew Broderick Problem

Rating: 10/10 (1 December 2001)

Many people have pointed to Matthew Broderick as a problem in the entire film, but have the following points been considered ?
1) The whole idea was to show that young men did achieve officer status during the war, and was more related to their social background then their actual experiance under fire.
2) That Broderick's entire role is underplayed to allow the intelligence of the men serving under him to become the real point of the movie.
3) That in the last third of the movie, Broderick starts to act as an emotional soundboard for the fears and emotions of his unit, resulting in some of the finest acting I have ever seen. Remember the shore scene, where all Broderick has is a sea and sky backdrop to register all the fear and lost hope for himself and his men as they march towards an encounter that they will not return from. If you don't remember it it, set the video to rewind, and go look again, this was a great actor at work !
Steve