Disappointed...

Rating: 6/10 (31 May 2000)

This film disappointed me. It felt incomplete. Partly, I think, because I never identified with any of the characters. Sean Penn's character came closest, but still no cigar. No character was allowed to develop enough. This must have been deliberate as the director had 3 hours to do it in. The film felt like an attempt to recreate the impact of Apocalypse Now, while deliberately omitting Martin Sheen's character.
If you are going to make a film without a traditional storyline, then at least give the audience something else.
Also, when I see any film described as a 'visual masterpiece' I immediately think of David Lean. Visually, Malick's film cannot be compared to Lean's epics.
(Now I think about it, the character Witt reminded me a little of Dr Zhivago - in the way he manages to appreciate beauty despite the human tragedy being played out all around him.)
At times the film did work for me, Cusack's cameo, the emergence of Ben Chaplin's 'inner resolve', Nolte's performance. But in the end the film always lost its momentum with either a clichÃ© or by just having the character disappear altogether.
Oh, and John Travolta was laughable.
6/10