Fascinating but flawed

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 1999)

I've been reading other people's comments about this movie, and I'm not surprised by how polarized opinions are. I saw it with an audience of maybe 100 people, and I'd say around 20 walked out early. I found myself very emotionally involved for most of the film, then bored and impatient with the last hour.
I agree with those who say the movie would have been stronger if the characters had been better differentiated. I wasn't always sure whose thoughts I was hearing in voice-over, and I also had trouble making out some of the words in the voice-overs. I felt that it would have been OK to have poetic, thoughtful voice-overs for one character, but they all blurred together after a while. What seemed poetic at first eventually seemed redundant.
Still, I was emotionally involved as the characters attempted to take control of a hill held by unseen Japanese. I loved the use of the camera moving through the tall grass from the soldiers' point of view. Maybe even more than "Saving Private Ryan," this film puts you right in the battle.
Jim Caviezel, who is unfamiliar to me, gives a memorable performance and is really the character we follow from beginning to end. He seems like an old soul -- like he sees beyond the madness around him and knows that there's something larger, more lasting. Caviezel was perfectly cast -- his eyes convey tremendous depth.
Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and Elias Koteas are the other actors that stand out in my mind. Of the "big name" actors in small parts, Woody Harrelson makes the largest impression and has one great scene.
Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" is one of my favorite movies. One of its strengths was an economy in its storytelling that is unfortunately lacking in "The Thin Red Line." Still, I'm very, very happy that this extraordinarily talented man is back making movies. I'll take a flawed "Thin Red Line" over 99% of the Hollywood schlock being churned out. I think this film will be discussed and debated for decades to come. He may have missed by a bit, but Malick aimed very high.