esrosedotblog

TODAY'S MOVIE

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989): NYTimesBest1176; Oliver Stone directs Tom Cruise in Viet-vet Ron Kovic's life story and gets an Oscar. It is a powerful picture and deeply involving. It is painful to be a part of and yet triumphant in the end.

What a film to watch in this high political season. The ending(s) take place in the Conventions. I had not remembered that Kovic and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War actually got onto the floor and seriously disrupted the 1972 Republican Convention in Miami. The riot scenes look just like the Viet Nam scenes. In contrast, Kovic was an honored speaker at the 1976 Democratic Convention.

Stone was banging them out one-a-year at this time; on a roll: PLATOON, TALK RADIO, WALL STREET then this one. After this he began to slide off the edge a bit. THE DOORS, JFK and he sunk into controversy too deeply to help the films themselves.

Now be sure to read carefully when I say that this was Cruise' first and last serious role. He is magnificent in it. Before this film, he was constrained by show-off matinee-idol roles and after, he became so protective of his career, in the Hollywood machine, that he never 'lost control' again. In this picture he loses control and Stone uses him so intensely that we live the story with him, line by line, scene by scene. We are in it. I asked you to read carefully to see that I am not knocking TC (which is easy to do, unfortunately) but mourning the loss of an actor who sold out for a commercial career. Now, he is all MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and big budget. All dross.

I will give this one a 5 out of Netflix5.

Photo of Ron Kovic at Kent State commemoration 1998. A happy ending.