Director Gregory Hoblit's "Hart's War" stands on its own, with Colin Farrell front and centered

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2002)

I saw again "Stalag 17" and "The Great Escape" (both quite entertaining films in spite of the war premise) after "Hart's War." My sense is, director Gregory Hoblit's film does stand on its own. It may not have the humor filled "17" atmosphere, nor the action packed "Escape" storyline, but it is a humane story at its core. It's about character building or disintegrating in times of hardship, offering aspects or the wisdom of life's outlook, military or otherwise.
Colin Farrell, who delivered an intense performance in Joel Schumacher's "Tigerland" 2000 (and looking forward to his appearance in this summer's "Minority Report" with Spielberg directing and Tom Cruise leading), once again demonstrated his keen acting portraying Lt. Hart, the central character opposite Bruce Willis' Col. McNamara in "Hart's War." For young Hart who has an affluent family background and was educated as a lawyer, he is fighting the 'war' -- yes, his war at hand, inside the POW camp vs. the literal war outside the barb-wired compound. There's urgency and suspense revolving around his character's encounters, trials and learnings -- things are somehow fast happening in spite of the camouflaged unhurried pace.

Willis gets to be subtle, sullen, and almost silent in his portrayal of Col. McNamara, the nemesis to Hart. He has delivered quiet performances (not so action hero-centric roles) in Robert Benton's "Nobody's Fool" 1994 (opposite Paul Newman), and Harold Becker's "Mercury Rising" 1998 (opposite an autistic child), prior to M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" 1999 (opposite Haley Joel Osment). Here in "Hart's War," the humane side of McNamara is unobtrusively noted when he's not having confrontations with Hart, for instance the scene where he visited flyer Scott in his cell and calmly handed him a Bible. Subtle persuasions, he has.

This war picture is very much male dominated, however the film is complemented by the music score of British composer Rachel Portman. Cinematographer Alar Kivilo, who has worked with Hoblit on the film "Frequency", is masterful in delivering the bleak snowy tone of the film. It may be a court drama per se, yet there's no shortage of action and intrigue. "Hart's War" is a well delivered film, with no simple answers to the reasons why, of things happening, people reacting, circumstances changing Like his "Primal Fear" 1996, "Fallen" 1998, and "Frequency" 2000, director Gregory Hoblit's films can be thought provoking.

RESEND May 6, 2002 SF ruby_fff