Technically Masterful, but Nothing More

Rating: 5/10 (9 November 2015)

The Thin Red Line marked Terrence Mallick's return to filmmaking after an extended absence from cinema. A tale that is epic in scope and in its production, the film follows an ensemble of soldiers fighting in the pacific theatre of WWII. The cast is packed full of incredible actors, and the names below the line are impressive as well, however, despite the talent involved in the production, the potential of this film is not realized. The cinematography is incredible, the battle scenes are breathtaking, the score is moving and the actors all are impressive in the scenes they are given. The problem lies in the fact that the film spreads itself too thin. Many characters are given one or two scenes in the movie, and are completely absent from the rest of the film. Jared Leto, Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John C Reilly, John Travolta, and George Clooney each portray roles in which they appear as barely more than a cameo, and as such it is very difficult to care for any of these characters. The primary characters are portrayed by Jim Cavaziel, Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin, Nick Nolte, and Elias Koteas, but problems aren't absent from these roles. Cavaziel's Pvt. Witt and Chaplin's Pvt. Bell have similar voices and, when in uniform and helmet, similar appearances as well, making their characters difficult to distinguish, a problem compounded by the multiple voice-over narrations. As well, the Pvt. Bell character is given a great deal of screen time without much in the way of a character. Sean Penn's Sgt. Welsh has some good interactions with Pvt. Witt, but these are too few and too far between to make up the core of the film. The characters played by Nolte and Koteas have several good scenes together, but these again are too few, and these characters do not factor in very much in the film's second half. There exists no character relationship strong enough for the film to really have any anchor, and though the language in the narration is pretty, it is too fleeting to give the film any central message. The saving grace of the film lies in its technical accomplishments, and for some this film will be worth watching for these alone. However, for one hoping to be drawn in to the film's characters or plot, I think this film will disappoint.