A wonderful, if flawed, film

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 1999)

The Thin Red Line, based on a novel by James Jones, is an epic story about a US Army attack on the Japanese held island of Guadalcanal during World War II. It is the first film directed by Terrence Malick since 1978. The Thin Red Line is a long (170 minutes), slow moving film that focuses on the philosophical aspects of war and man's relationship with nature more than on plot and character development. It is visually stunning with an emphasis on breathtaking imagery. The film boasts an impressive cast that includes Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrleson, John Cusack, John Travolta, and George Clooney even though unknown actor Jim Caviezel plays the main character, Private Witt. The film begins with Witt hiding on an island paradise while AWOL from his unit, Charlie Company. One of the film's key themes, nature's inherent violence and cruelty, is presented here. After Witt gets picked up, the film shifts to the actual fighting that takes place as Witt's Charlie Company makes the bloody and nearly impossible attack on the Japanese base on top of the island. The film's major characters drift in and out of the story line and are often indistinguishable due to the mud and blood covering the battlefield. The only regular soldier that stands out of this is Witt whose philosophical voice-overs present the soul of the film. Witt's voice-overs are matched by Sean Penn's great performance as the leader of Charlie Company, Sgt. Welsh. Nick Nolte gives the best performance of the film as the highly driven Lt. Col. Toll who forces the soldiers to continue the deadly campaign despite all setbacks. Toll, a life-long military man who is experiencing his first ever combat, is an interesting character who is solely a commanding officer and is detatched from the regular fighting men. Although the acting in the film is superb, the characters often fade into the background. The scenes of anonymous soldiers fighting and dying in battle and still shots of nature's beauty dominate the film. The driving force behind the film becomes the progression of these wonderful images that are only linked by the narration of the few main characters. Nominated for 7 Oscars including best director and best cinematography, The Thin Red Line is intensely thought provoking and a joy to watch. The film occasionally gets bogged down in the scale and number of the beautiful images that it presents. However, it is an interesting and beautiful film that should be seen by everyone.