A solid movie, in spite of a few faults.

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 1999)

It's true, this is a very long movie. It runs just under 3 hours, and much of that is quiet and internal, so it helps to be fresh and awake when you watch it. That said, I was never bored with this film, in spite of the meandering camera and plot. This isn't an in-your-face war movie, but instead takes a more hypnotic approach. This film looks past the apparent subject of the war in the pacific to frame moments of sublime natural beauty.
Occasionally some of this parade of music and languid imagery crosses the line into near-parody. The choral voices and idyllic images of native children swimming in crystalline waters all feel a bit cliché, and there's a sequence of a woman on a swing that is like being hit with a whole truckload of sentimental stereotypes. Thankfully, these are only brief lapses, and for the most part, the imagery is handled with great humility and elegance.
Also, the internal monologues can get a bit tiresome. To me, the persistent philosophical internal voices of the characters are entirely unnecessary. They come in waves of empty metaphor and naively melodramatic ruminations. After the first few such interludes, I just tuned them out and focused on the more immediate visual and experiential aspects of the film, which I find to be a much more potent combination.
Among the strengths of this film is its ensemble casting. The odd thing is that if you go into this expecting a Woody Harrelson/George Clooney/John Travolta/John Cusack movie, you're in for a surprise. The cast is an ensemble in the true sense of the word, many actors making up one whole. Most of the big names are just faces in the crowd, who speak their parts, and pass through. Even Nick Nolte and Sean Penn, who have fairly large roles, are not our protagonists, so much as forceful bits of scenery for the real main characters, all relative small-timers, to bounce off of, and really shine. The way the narrative passes through so many hands, through several viewpoints, gives Thin Red Line its epic scope. It is a journey through the experience of war, not just a vehicle for gory set-pieces on the beaches of D-Day, like Saving Private Ryan.
Oddly enough, I consider this movie an excellent companion piece to Saving Private Ryan. Both movies manage to depict WWII in two very different and effective ways, and the experience of seeing one compliments the other. While not as colorful as Spielberg's D-Day, Thin Red Line's grassy ridge siege is an amazing, extended piece of performance and cinema, and every bit as successful at putting you in those fields, and in the soldier's experience.
All together, this is a smart, affecting movie, that rarely takes the easy bait for thrills or shock value, and succeeds in spite of its few misteps.