De Niro Wins

Rating: 7/10 (25 April 2012)

I expected more from The Deer Hunter, but that's probably because of the reputation it enjoys. After watching the film, it's clear that the hype comes by way of Robert De Niro's performance; believable and entirely authentic to his character. The Vietnam war itself is more of a vehicle to the centrepiece scene in the film; POW Russian Roulette and the ensuing results. Indeed, if you watch this movie, this is the once scene that makes it truly worthwhile because it was otherwise too long and not in the least gripping. If anything, the way it dragged on -particularly at the beginning- could be seen as the director's way of demonstrating that life outside of the war-zone is insignificantly mundane compared to what goes on in a shorter time span with death always moments away. Out of the 7/10 I'm rating it, six points go to Robert and one to the Roulette scene. Not that the other acting was bad, nor that it was a terrible movie, but not much else stood out for me in the three long hours it took to tell the story.