The Thin Red Line

The Thin Red Line

Director: Terrence Malick

Year: 1998

Starring: Adrien Brody, Jim Caveizel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, and a lot more.

     The Thin Red Line was released the same year as Saving Private Ryan, and while it was competing with another World War II movie, what makes this film stand out (and the reason I think the film wasn't overshadowed by Private Ryan) is the fact that this film is completely different. The film is about the Battle of Mount Austin, a pacific theater campaign.

     The film sees the return of director Terrence Malick to after a 20 year absence, and sees him in both a directing and writing capacity. Malick was able to assemble a very large ensemble cast, many of whom did't end up in the final cut of the film, and many others' appearances were limited to nothing short of cameos. Nevertheless, Malick's direction is fantastic, and his approach to film making is one that I could even compare to Stanley Kubrick. Every scene is carefully executed and it's clear that every scene was painstakingly prepared. Malick's direction makes the film feel very orchestrated and structured. 

The only things I don't particularly like about this film is the way the cast is represented. As I mentioned earlier, the film has an ensemble cast of very recognizable actors. Unfortunately, most off them are reduced to cameo roles, with the majority of the film's screen time given to Jim Caveizel, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Elias Koteas. George Clooney, who gets top billing, doesn't actually appear until literally the last scene. John Travolta and Adrian Brody are given only about 5 minutes of screen time, and Viggo Mortensen, Gary Oldman, Bill Pullman and Martin Sheen are cut completely from the film, along with many others. Caveizel does a decent job, but I would have prefered Adrian Brody (who apparently was supposed to "carry the film" as he describes his role in the original script). Maybe it's just me, but it also seems like a sin to cut out Gary Oldman from any film whatsoever. 

     As well directed as the film it, it does run a little long. At 171 minutes, it's an endurance. Normally that wouldn't be a bad thing, but because the film takes it's time developing what it wants to say. There are many drawn out scenes that have virtually nothing happening, and these scenes appear quite frequently. It breaks up the pacing, creating a rather disjointed experience. The film is almost three hours long, and to many, it will feel a lot longer. A well edited film creates a viewing experience that keeps you hooked until the very end, regardless of the length. That's probably due to the constant changes to the script, and Malick employing two different editors at different times, and the incredibly lengthy time it took (about a year and a half). The final version of the film is apparently very different from Malick's original concept, so it's no wonder the film's editing is all over the place. 

     The Thin Red Line is a decent film, but it's not for everyone. The pacing and length will probably turn a lot of people away, but the combat scenes and numerous cameos by many big names might be enough to stick with it until the end.