A RUMOR OF WAR Movie Review
1980 Richard T. Heffron
The adaptation of Philip Caputo's Pulitzer-prize winning book tells essentially the same story as Oliver Stone's Platoon. It lacks the adrenaline-pumping action sequences and plot contrivances. In their place are a solidly realistic atmosphere and a deeper understanding of the mistakes that were made in the early stages of the Vietnam War and the people who made those mistakes.
In 1963, Phil Caputo (Brad Davis) is a restless, dissatisfied college student who's still living at home. School bores him; the idea of going into business is no more appealing; he argues with his parents. When he enlists in the Marines, his girlfriend Carol (Gail Youngs) says, “That's the most conformist act of rebellion I've ever heard.” True or not, in 1965, Second Lt. Caputo arrives in Vietnam. “We didn't know what to expect,” he says in voice-over. “Rumors of screaming yellow hordes. But we were Americans, 1st Marines, 3rd Battalion, the first major force to land in Vietnam. We were ready for anything.” Ready but almost completely ignorant.
With the sometimes overbearing assistance of Sgt. Coleman (Brian Dennehy), Caputo takes over the 2nd Platoon and learns, one piece at a time, about the realities of war. Snipers, heat, an invisible guerrilla enemy. His two best friends are Lt. Cohen (Michael O'Keefe) and Lt. McCloy (Keith Carradine) who share his humanistic values and disgust at the murderous insanity surrounding them. Caputo finds that he is not immune. His superiors seem obsessed with body- counts and kill-ratios and have no understanding of what really goes on in the bush. To survive the war, he must commit abhorrent acts. Where, then, does he draw the line between what is right and what is necessary?
John Sacret Young, who also created the TV series China Beach, turns Caputo's memoir into a memorably epigrammatic script. (See quotes.) Journeyman TV director Richard T. Heffron makes his Mexican locations an accurate-looking version of Vietnam. He's particularly good with mud and rain. One long sequence involving the unburying and reburial of Vietnamese bodies is as grotesque and surreal as any moment in American war films. The acting is superb. Davis is a believably angry and often powerless hero. Of the strong supporting cast, Lane Smith as the veteran Sgt. Holgren, and Stacey Keach as the bloodthirsty Maj. Ball, have the most to work with.
Because A Rumor of War was made for television and arrived in the wake of such high-powered theatrical releases as Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter, it lacks a strong following, even among fans of war films. It deserves better. Caputo, Young, and Heffron take the subject seriously. They refuse to accept cliches or easy answers to the questions concerning American involvement in that war. This is a strong sleeper worth seeking out.
Cast: Brad Davis (Phil Caputo), Keith Carradine (McCloy), Michael O'Keefe (Walter Cohen), Stacy Keach (Maj. Ball), Steve Forrest (Atherton), Richard Bradford (Rupert), Brian Dennehy (Sgt. Coleman), John Friedrich (Pascarella), Perry Lang (Woodward), Chris Mitchum (Capt. Peterson), Dan Shor (Soldier), Jeff Daniels (Soldier), Laurence “Larry” Fishburne (Soldier), Lane Smith (Sgt. Holgren), Gail Youngs (Carol), Bobby Ellerbee (Mackey); Written by: John Sacret Young; Cinematography by: Stevan Larner, Jorge Stahl Jr.; Music by: Charles Gross. Producer: David Manson, Stonehenge Productions, Charles Fries Productions. Running Time: 195 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta.