A film that has received too much credit

Rating: 4/10 (28 March 2004)

I finally saw this film after a friend of mine had highly recommended it, and urged me to see it. Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed. The movie lacked substance and was void of any real character development. One hour into the movie, and I had no better understanding of how these small-town Pennsylvania steel workers lived.
We were shown their poverty, their simple way of life, and their vibrant Russian Orthodox culture, but it was nothing more than a voyeuristic trip. We didn't get beyond the stereotypical surface. This being the equivalent of a movie trying to capture the essence of Washington, DC life and merely showing politicians in front of monuments.
We didn't get a feel for who the characters were, what they stood for, and how Vietnam affected them besides making them nearly mute.
In addition: Why were the hunting scenes that were supposed to take place in the Allegheny mountains of Pennsylvania, shot in Washington State? Strange considering they actually did most of the small-town scenes in PA and Ohio.
Also, Oliver Stone's "Born of the Fourth of July" makes the Deer Hunter look like a B-movie.