Terrence Malick's testament on horror of war stand powerful, even if it pedals on an uneven narrative

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2017)

Director Terrence Malick's take on World War II in the Pacific theater is powerful and honest as it is meandering. Following an unusually long twenty-year hiatus from the director's chair, this mysterious filmmaker racks up a large ensemble cast in this harrowing World War II epic based on James Jones's novel that pins its focus not on the grim reality of active combat but it the grim philosophy about how war can tear people apart from inside and out. Although Malick doesn't execute the grittiness of war the same way Steven Spielberg did in 'Saving Private Ryan', he makes a solid achievement on proving that war is hell and the bonding of brotherhood is one of the greatest weapons in active combat. The biggest problem however, that keeps this film from mounting near a masterpiece is the occasionally faulty screenplay that renders the film somewhat uneven towards its final act. Set in 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal, this film follows U.S Army Pvt. Witt (played by Jim Caviezel) who goes AWOL before being deployed with the 1st Battlion, 25th Infantry Division through the Guadalcanal Island of Japan. Lead by Lieutenant Colonol Gordon Tall (played by Nick Nolte), the team including Sgt. Edward Welsh (played by Sean Penn), Capt. James Starros (played by Elias Koteas), Pvt. Jack Bell (played by Ben Chaplinh), Capt. John Graff (played by John Cusack), Pfc. Don Doll (played by Dash Mihok), Cpl. Geoffrey Fife (played by Adrien Brody), Sgt. Maynard Storm (played by John C. Reilly), Lt. William Whyte (played by Jared Leto), and Sgt. William Beck (played by Woody Harrelson) compete in a brutal battle against the Japanese. In the process, they learn the true meaning of brotherhood as well as the grim reality of war.
War is anything but a walk in the park, and Terrence Malick makes that explicitly clear throughout the sluggish 170-minute runtime. But unlike most contemporary war epics where soldiers' agony is depicted through a series of graphic combat sequences, Malick makes great use of visual storytelling to portray not only the nature of soldiers but also to explored their psychological being. And the alluring cinematography by John Toll beautifully captures the nature of every moment. Private Witt's background is greatly explored in a series of flashbacks with him and his wife, and the emotional agony it endures from the separation of her open doors to an emotionally powerful atmosphere surrounding the character. In the end, this character played by Caviezel remains as the only three-dimensional character among the overwhelming load of characters who are left in underdeveloped states (developing over a dozen characters just isn't easy). The philosophical dialogue and the emotional chemistry between the soldiers however, marks the film's most powerful edge, though nearly everyone with the exception of Sean Penn and Nick Nolte's character sadly uninteresting or even memorable. In the combat sequences when bullets start flying and bodies are torn by Japanese gunfire and artillery, there is rarely a moment when a death of the soldiers hits hard. At some points, it is very easy to forget which characters are dead or not. The performances are strong, but none of them manage to stand among another especially over the half of the cast members take advantage of only limited ten to twenty minutes on screen.
The film pervades a powerful story that expresses both the harrowing reality of war as well as the ingenious philosophy that brotherhood is the greatest weapon that strengthens the survival of every men in the battlefield. There is an issue about the complex morality of the characters that is thinly explored throughout the story. War is deadly and the devastating effects it has on soldiers dead or alive are haunting. The combat sequences are significantly intense to watch, especially the raid sequence in the Japanese village (nothing close to the level of 'Saving Private Ryan'). Although the occasionally uneven pacing can serve a mild foible for impatient viewers, the real problematic turn comes towards the final act when the story begins a feel little disjointed and extraneous. It is difficult to escape the feeling that the film has multiple endpoints. Terrence Malick's philosophical undertones may provide some good emotional and humanistic gravitas, but it is barely enough to make up for how mildly uneven the story proceeds. Those who are able to get past this however, are most likely in for an engaging time.
The Thin Red Line is powerful, if faulty World War II epic showering with marvelous performances and a beautiful direction, if flawed direction by Terrence Malick. While this film is not likely engage everyone looking for a sobering intake of the horrors of war mainly due to Malick's sophisticated style, it is a film that set to inspire as well as teach a harrowing truth on what war is.