In the opening Vietnam battle sequence of Casualties of War, Private Erikkson (Michael J. Fox) finds himself stuck halfway in a Vietcong tunnel. As an underground soldier moves toward him for the kill, the gutsy Sgt. Meserve (Sean Penn) pulls him out of a tunnel at the last minute. These are two men who could not be more different, but yet they are linked because of Vietnam. Erikkson is the average American who needs the Meserves of the world to rescue them. He's also the American who must stand up to the Meserves when they go too far. In Brian De Palma’s harrowing film, we witness as America fails.

The central section of Casualties of War focuses on a squad of five men who go on a long range reconnaissance mission. Upset over the recent death of one of their own, Sgt. Meserve decides to kidnap a Vietnamese girl named Oanh (Thu Thuy Lee), so they can rape and torture her during the long hike. Erikkson opposes this and initially forms a secret pact with Pvt. Diaz (John Leguizamo) to oppose Meserve's actions. However, when Diaz chickens out at a crucial moment, Erikkson is left outnumbered four to one. The film works extremely well as a morality play. Erikkson's strong moral character is no match for any weapon during wartime. If anything, it becomes a weakness. All of his potential solutions (murder, desertion) are unacceptable to his own beliefs and he is forced to stand by and witness the horrific tragedy that ensues.

Many reviewers have poked fun at Fox's presence in the film. The criticism is that he is miscast, making the film feel like Marty McFly goes to war. By doing so, they're missing one of the key points in the film. Not all soldiers in Vietnam were the brutal grunts like Sean Penn or the psychopaths like Don Harvey's Cpl. Clark. We may like to think that these are the people that go over there, while the nice boys stay home. However, there were tons of soldiers over there (and in Iraq right now) that were good natured men with strong morals and a family to worry about back home. The ugly truth is that we want people like Meserve to be over there fighting for us, without realizing that we are in fact sending Marty McFly as well.

The other point made by Fox's casting is how powerless Erikkson is to stop the rape. If it was another grunt, someone equal to Penn's stature, this would have been an entirely different movie. Erikkson is weak and without Diaz's support cannot muster the courage to do what is needed. Erikkson is our protagonist, but he is not a typical hero. In one of the film's most compelling scenes, he has a chance to escape with the victim. At first, he's not willing or courageous enough to leave with her. When he finally changes his mind, it's too late because the threatening Clark has shown up. Fox's tormented and horrified demeanor perfectly capture the anguish that Erikkson is going through as he tries to wrestle with his moral convictions. A brawny actor with bigger stature (say Bruce Willis) would be entirely unconvincing in this role.

If anything, it's Penn who gives the weak performance. Sean Penn has developed into one of the finest American actors, but here was still stuck a bit too much on his method style. He hams it up in this one, chewing scenery to an unnecessary degree. At times, his character threatens to come across as a bit cartoonish, although De Palma is wise enough to never let it get that far. More interesting performances come from John C. Reilly as the weak willed Hatcher, and John Leguizamo as the cowardly Diaz. Both characters exhibit human flaws that are disturbingly realistic. And Thu Thuy Lee is certainly heartbreaking as the tortured Oanh.

Late in the film, there is a horrible speech delivered by Erikkson about how important our morals are in a war situation. He states that they should even be more important, not less. Unfortunately, it's a very poorly written speech and there's not much Fox can do with it. The screenwriter was playwright David Rabe and I'm not sure if he was going for eloquence, but he sure didn't achieve it. De Palma fires up the score for this scene too, and suddenly you wonder if you've traveled to a Spielberg film. It's a jarring moment that nearly grinds the movie to a halt, but the movie quickly recovers with the subdued way the ensuing investigation is played out.

De Palma's direction is admirably restrained for a director that usually likes to show off. The rape scene is perfectly handled, avoided the sensationalism that usually happens in movies like this. De Palma pulls away and shows the rape from a distance, giving us Erikkson's horrific point of view. He does a terrific job of displaying the heat and exhaustion of combat. During the long patrol march, De Palma focuses everything with a red tint, suggesting a brutally hot sun tearing its way through everyone and everything in its path. Also notable is Ennio Morricone's brilliant score, which perfectly captures the dilemma Erikkson faces and at the end hauntingly observes the tragedy that has taken place.

The title Casualties of War does not refer to soldiers being brought home in body bags, but our national moral conscience being destroyed during wartime. The film is book ended by scenes with Erikkson on a train, presumably returning from the war. He notices a Vietnamese woman with a striking resemblance to Oanh. This is what triggers his memory of the awful event that took place. The Vietnam War is a black mark on our national record that we've tried to forget for a long time now, and Brian De Palma's film triggers our memory of that event just like the Vietnamese woman does for Erikkson. At the end, he wakes up and chases the woman down. She tells him that his (and our) nightmare is finally over. Her optimism is admirable, but considering that we are currently involved in another war that will leave a permanent stain on our history, I think she was wrong.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD