GARDENS OF STONE Movie Review
1987 Francis Ford Coppola
For his second Vietnam film, Francis Ford Coppola answers the cinematic pyrotechnics of Apocalypse Now with a more somber tone. The two films are closely connected with overlapping casts, but the sense of personal loss that hangs over Gardens of Stone is dark and palpable. It can be traced, at least in part, to the death of Coppola's son Giancarlo in a boating accident during the production. It eerily mirrors the film's plot, which begins with the funeral of Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney) at Arlington National Cemetery.
Flash back to Willow's arrival at Fort Myer, Virginia, in 1968 to serve with the Army's 3rd Infantry, “the Old Guard.” As Sgt. “Goody” Nelson (James Earl Jones) puts it, “We are the nation's toy soldiers. We march with rifles that cannot shoot. We fix bayonets that cannot stick. We are the Kabuki theater of the profession of arms, jester in the court of Mars, god of war.” The Old Guard's role is ceremonial, and Arlington National Cemetery is its stage for “drops” (the unit's colloquial term for burials) and other rituals. Willow is the son of a sergeant. He finds two father figures in Nelson and Sgt. Clell Hazard (James Caan). Hazard takes a particular interest in the younger man and helps him develop the leadership skills that will take him to Officer Candidate School.
At the same time, Hazard tells Jackie and everyone else not to be so enthusiastic about Vietnam. Having served there, he thinks the war is unwinnable. If it is going to be continued though, he would rather serve as an instructor at Fort Benning, where his experience might keep other soldiers alive. But his commanding officer, Capt. Homer Thomas (Dean Stockwell), knows his value and denies his requests for transfer. At the core of the film is Jackie's growth as a soldier, often revealed through the help that he gives to Pvt. Wildman (Casey Siemaszko), the platoon screw-up.
Both Hazard and Willow are involved with unpromising personal relationships. Hazard meets Samantha Davis (Anjelica Huston) in the lobby of their apartment building. Is there any future for a soldier and a reporter for The Washington Post in 1968? Willow is already carrying a torch for Rachel Feld (Mary Stuart Masterton), daughter of an ambitious well-connected Colonel who sees Jackie as a poor match. Those plotlines follow a predictable course. One moment of physical violence meant to demonstrate the intensity of the times comes across as forced, insincere, and too easily resolved, and a war games sequence also has an obligatory feel. Also, at times it seems that writer Ron Bass may have given each of these characters too much blatant political baggage to carry, but, well, maybe we did carry too much blatant political baggage then.
In visual terms, Coppola treats the cemetery and the Old Guard with the proper respect, and he makes inventive use of Washington locations. That attitude toward the military recalls John Ford's cavalry and World War II films, and, doubtless, the director had those in mind. If Ford had made it, he might have cast John Wayne and Ward Bond as Hazard and Nelson, and a young Henry Fonda for Willow. Like Ford, Coppola recognizes the Army as an organization—a family—that takes care of its own. Coppola, however, is not as uncritical as Ford could be. By placing Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, and Bill Graham in supporting roles, he reminds viewers of the madness of Apocalypse Now. By focusing on Hazard's well-grounded opinions, he is able to balance a pro-military attitude with equally strong anti-war views and not come across as hypocritical.
True, that point of view was virtually unheard of at the time, but Coppola brings it home with sorrowful believability.
Cast: James Caan (Sgt. Clell Hazard), James Earl Jones (Sgt. Maj. “Goody” Nelson), D.B. Sweeney (Pvt. Jackie Willow), Anjelica Huston (Samantha Davis), Dean Stockwell (Capt. Homer Thomas), Lonette McKee (Betty Rae), Mary Stuart Masterson (Rachel Feld), Bill Graham (Don Brubaker), Sam Bottoms (Lt. Webber), Casey Siemaszko (Pvt. Wildman), Laurence “Larry” Fishburne (Cpl. Flanagan), Dick Anthony Williams (1st Sgt. Slasher Williams), Elias Koteas (Pete Deveber), Peter Masterson (Col. Feld), Carlin Glynn (Mrs. Feld), Eric Holland (Col. Godwin); Written by: Ronald Bass; Cinematography by: Jordan Cronenweth; Music by: Carmine Coppola. Producer: Tri-Star Pictures, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Levy. Boxoffice: 5.2M. MPAA Rating: R. Running Time: 112 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Closed Caption.