An incredible ensemble cast tell the story of American troops capturing Guadalcanal during World War Two in Terrence Malick's poetic treatment of war. We follow mulitple stories, picking up one character for a moment before dropping them and returning to another, to give an insight into how various personalities and various ranks handled the intense pressures of conflict, murder, war and death, whilst examining religion, evil, love and power.
Despite an array of big names, the focus mostly stays with Ben Chaplin, Jim Caviezel and Elias Koteas, as they face various challenges within themselves, against their superiors and ultimately in overcoming the enemy. The are moments of quiet meditation but the film never shies away from portraying the brutalities of war, and like 'Saving Private Ryan', released at the same time, the battle scenes are lenghty and thorough, with the confusion of real warfare. In stark contrast are the moments away from the battlefield, such as in the film's opening scenes in a peaceful island paradise. Even in the midst of battle, Malick's camera finds peace in the nature of the island and its inhabitants. We also often catch glimpses into Chaplin's past as he reminisces about his wife. These memories bring to mind Tarkovsky with their dreamlike nature and the way they are woven into the film, which never gives us a clue that we are returning to memory but intercuts it into the middle of the action.
We hear whispered voiceovers for several characters, often hearing one actor's voice when we are looking at another, adding to the confusion, but also overall philosophical atmosphere. Unfortunately, whilst the intention is admirable, the philosophising seem fairly empty and repetitive. These soldiers don't have any answers and their experiences don't seem to provide any. Instead they constantly ask questions of such grand, ambiguous scale, such as "Where did this great evil come from?" or "Who is doing this to us?". The effect is frustrating and feels a little naive, as we would expect the soldiers to gradually find answers, whereas in this film there is no progression, only further confusion presented by the horrors they witness.
The immense of the celebrity is surprisingly not distracting, and actually helps to identify with the huge cast. Amazingly, actors such as Bill Pullman, Martin Sheen and Billy Bob Thornton were left out of the film altogether, as Malick shot hours of film before piecing the film together in the edit. It's useful when faced with so much characters, to have easily identifiable faces to remind us of who we are following and also enable us to feel familiarity with the soldiers. The confusion of battle can easily result in a confusing experiecne for the audience, and I thought at one point that Jared Leto, in a small role, had died, only for him to pop up again later. Simialrly, when Woody Harrelson is killed, we are able to feel sympathy and sadness due to recognisable persona, despite his relatively small amount of screentime. Sometimes the celebrity can be a bit distracting, or unbelievable, such as John Travolta as an admiral, or George Clooney suddenly appearing in the film's final scene, but the performances of great actors like Nick Nolte and Sean Penn can equally involve us in the great struggle the characters have gone through.
Alternatively, having no stars present amongst the Japanese ensures they become a faceless enemy, anonymous in defeat, and ultimately victims as the initial insecurities of the soldiers transforms into an effective war machine.
Malick is a great and sorely underused director. This was only his third film since his first, 'Badlands', in 1973, and he has only made one since, the mismarketed and underseen 'The New World'. Despite operating on the peripheries of American cinema he still presents a serious draw for actors as we can see here, and his artistic films, with their thoughtful pace, identification with nature and man's intrusion upon it, are the work of a great auteur and this film is handled with immense detail whilst examining grand themes. 'The Thin Red Line' might lose its way sometimes, and may also seem a little pretentious, but its a war film like no other, and brings a rather European approach to an American genre. Along with 'Saving Private Ryan', it is one of the best war films of probably the last twenty years.
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