Not A War Film But A Character Piece

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2016)

At first glance Michael Ciminos, "The Deer Hunter" would appear to be a war film but it's not really like this it's really about a friendship that is torn apart by the Vietnam War and this makes this film a much more compelling film to view and a damn good one at that. I loved The Deer Hunter mainly because of its characters and how the film takes the time to build them up. This film uses its extremely long run time to its advantage, so that it can fully take the time to explore its characters and how their experiences effect them. The friendship in this movie is a believable one, they feel genuine because that do things that real friends do, they argue and make fun of each other but ultimately respect one and other and that makes the characters seem more relatable in the eyes of the audience. Robert DeNiro is fantastic in this film, De Niro pulls of his character with style he makes him a wounded soul but one that is still loyal I could not have seen anyone else play this character. This is easily Christopher Walkens best performance because he gives such a genuine performance in all aspects of his character when it comes to his likable and childish character but also his traumatised persona that is made very believable through the films fantastic writing. Meryl Streep was really good in this film I do have a few issues with her character that I will elaborate on. Now this film doesn't have many action sequences but when they come they are extremely brutal and realistic because of the time Cimino took to build the stakes of them and the Russian roulette sequences are incredibly intense and extremely well directed. This film has an excellent way of analysing the effects of war of its characters you get the idea that they don't want to be viewed as heroes and I loved the last act of the movie that explores this idea. I suppose my biggest issue with this film is the eventual romance that blooms between De Niro and Streets characters and it's mainly because I didn't feel any kind of chemistry between them and unlike other aspects of this film such as the central friendship and the war sequences it just didn't feel genuine and was extremely forced.
The Deer Hunter is an amazing film, it's a film that any film fan looking for substance and well developed characters should watch, its a film that never feels fake and has some truly amazing performances and is easily one of my favourite Best Picture Winners.
92%/A