Spiral of Death

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2011)

It's an entertaining film, but it's so much about death, that's it ends up being quite depressing. This is a legendary film in the sense that it's a rare thing to see Brad Pitt, before he got famous and amazing at acting.
Tristan Ludlow falls in love with his brother Samuel's (Henry Thomas) fiancÃ©e Susannah (Julia Ormond). After Samuel dies in the war, Susannah turns to Tristan for support and love, much to the dismay of Tristan's brother Alfred (Aidan Quinn). This causes friction between Alfred and his father, Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins).
Eventually, Alfred ends up with Susannah anyways, because Tristan goes off to fight the war because of the guilt of not saving Samuel and she can't wait for him any longer.
This movie revolves around death, as I lost count of the body count we see after around 15. It just continues to pile up. It's a complex love story, to say the least, and aside from Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, there's not much of a cast here. It falls short in the supporting cast because they don't have much acting talent, and the cringe-worthy crying scene from Brad Pitt (near the beginning of the film) is something I can't stomach very well. Susannah's stupidity and heartlessness makes me despise her character and storyline, so much so that I can't love this movie.
It's a good movie, but it's not great. Because of all the flaws, it's not a great film. But, because of Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, we get a decent film with some pretty good acting despite the first crying scene of Pitt. The rest of the movie is a depressing spiral of death. It has a great soundtrack, composed by legendary James Horner and it really gives the final touch of sadness for the film. It's one of those tear-jerking films that will stay with you for decades. It's a classic, but it's just not up there with the caliber of say Interview with the Vampire.