CHARLIE MOPIC (84 ) Movie Review
1989 Patrick Sheane Duncan
Patrick Sheane Duncan's semi-experimental view of a reconnaissance patrol is not for all tastes. He takes the idea of cinema verite to a level that traditionalists may not appreciate. The premise is that all of the action is seen through the lens of a combat cameraman who's making a training film. It will be called “Lessons Learned” and it's the brainchild of Second Lt. Richard Drewry (Jonathan Emerson) who will be making his first trip out into the bush with a veteran squad. MoPic (Byron Thomas) is the guy behind the 16mm. camera.
It's August 1, 1969.
The five-man squad is led by “O.D.,” Sgt. O'Donovan (Richard Brooks), “a walking razor blade” who makes it clear from the outset that he thinks the idea stinks. The last thing he needs in his life is a “cherry” second lieutenant. Easy (Nicholas Cascone), the class clown, is a short-timer with 27 days left before he goes home. Spec. 4 Baldwin, “Pretty Boy” (Jason Tomlins) is Easy's more retiring friend. Out in the field, everyone wants to be close to him because he's so lucky; never gets a scratch while other guys are blown away. Hammer (Christopher Burgard) carries the big M-60 machine gun and is the most enthusiastically violent of the group. Spec. 5 Frye, “Cracker” (Glenn Morshower) is their huge, quiet father figure.
The patrol begins slowly, with O.D. and the lieutenant working out who's in charge. It's a complex matter, with the untested officer deferring to the non-com but being forced to draw lines. As they move farther from their drop point, the presence of the Vietcong becomes more apparent, with O.D. analyzing booby traps and ambushes. But before the enemy activity takes center stage, each man takes a turn in front of the camera and explains who he is and how he came to be in Vietnam. Easy was “volunteered” by a judge. Cracker thinks the Army is an equal opportunity employer. O.D., whose anger is an important survival skill, has little to say directly. To Drewry, the Army's a corporation, “like Gulf+Western,” and he's a junior executive who is using this patrol as an important stepping stone in his career.
Most of the graphic violence is held back until the second half, and even then Duncan handles it in unexpected ways. Given the strict limits he has placed on point-of-view, he cannot use many conventional devices to create suspense. He doesn't cut between faces; his jumps in time are naturalistic. A shot ends when MoPic (and director of photography Alan Caso) turns off the camera or falls down. Contact with the North Vietnamese almost always comes without preparation, giving this fiction the jolting surprises normally found in documentaries. In the most moving scenes involving casualties and prisoners, Duncan stretches the limits of his naturalistic approach, but he doesn't go too far.
Though more expensive productions contain more careful and elaborate effects, few are any more wrenching. Duncan makes the physical and mental effects of violence—violence given and violence received—all too immediate and painful. Part of that sense of hyperrealism comes from the fine ensemble acting and the careful use of military props that seem to be authentic. Whether it's absolutely faithful to the time and place is not so important.
From the opening image of universal leader to the final shot, 84 Charlie MoPic looks like the real deal.
Cast: Richard Brooks (O.D.), Christopher Burgard (Hammer), Nicholas Cascone (Easy), Jonathan Emerson (L.T.), Glenn Morshower (Cracker), Jason Tomlins (Pretty Boy), Byron Thames (MoPic); Written by: Patrick Sheane Duncan; Cinematography by: Alan Caso; Music by: Donovan. Producer: The Charlie MoPic Company, Michael Nolin. Boxoffice: $154,264. MPAA Rating: R. Running Time: 89 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV.