Platoon (1986)

Platoon (1986) – A young recruit faces the moral contradictions of war and the brokenness of humanity in the jungles of Viet Nam.

Directed by Oliver Stone                          Starring – Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger

This was the movie that put Stone on the map as a high profile director.  It took home a total of four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.  A top-flight cast that includes the names above plus Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon,  Keith David, John C. McGinley, and Johnny Depp in his first major motion picture role.  The combination of script, cast and director make this a stunning movie.

It’s also one of those rare movies where I feel a little daunted when it’s time to discuss the movie. The full effect is simply overwhelming.  My initial thought was to give it a four star rating.  No insult in that.  But I realized how long after seeing “Platoon” I was still being haunted by the story and the images.

The performances of Dafoe and Berenger hold the center of the story.  Each of their characters has found their own way to survive in the midst of madness and death.  Berenger’s Sgt. Barnes simply becomes one with his environment.  He confronts the madness with a madness of his own.  His survival is the only thing that matters, even to the point of killing fellow Americans.  Sgt. Elias (Dafoe) chooses to deflect the insanity around him.  In the field, he is cautious and concerned about bringing all his troops home.  On base, he retreats into the refuge of marijuana and booze.  Sheen’s Chris Taylor is a college student who dropped out to volunteer for the war.  Caught between the two dominant personalities of his new world, his intellect crumbles under the impossible choices the war presents to him.

Written by Stone, a Viet Nam veteran himself, the movie spends very little time discussing the “big issues” of the war.  This is the view from Ground Zero, the front line, the belly of the Beast.  The view contrasts, intentionally, with the “glories of war” approach of more traditional war movies, especially that of the John Wayne movie, “The Green Berets”.  The subject matter isn’t “comfortable” but it shouldn’t be.  The performances are compelling, however.  The image on the movie poster is one that will stay with you for a long, long time once you see it in the movie.

Why You Will Like It – One of the great war movies, one of the great Viet Nam movies, a brilliant movie in virtually every particular.

Rating – ***** Must See