Short(ish) review #3

Full Metal Jacket (1987) - "In Vietnam The Wind Doesn't Blow It Sucks."

Before this film, the following directors had made successful films about the Vietnam War - Michael Cimino, Francis Ford Copppla and Oliver Stone. Now enter one of the greatest directors ever for his take - Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining).

It starts with a group of US Marine Corps recruits arriving for basic training, in preparation for the Vietnam War, including Pvt. "Joker" (Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises)), Pvt. "Cowboy" (Arliss Howard) and Pvt. "Gomer Pyle" (Vincent D'Onofrio). They are to be turned into hardened marines under the supervision and threats of Gny. Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). By the time they get to Vietnam, Joker has become a field reporter for the magazine Stars and Stripes and he eventually gets a chance for some action. The plot of this film isn't its strongest point.

Quite simply, the best thing about the film is R. Lee Ermey. He has the best lines, the best insults and is genuinely someone you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of. The extreme close-up shots of his face are particularly scary. R. Lee Ermey was actually a sergeant in the U.S. Marines, so much of his dialogue was ad-libbed. For example:
 

Ever since, he has play other similar authority figure roles.

Matthew Modine's character represents the Jungian philosophy concerning the duality of men. Simply, he is a bit of an oxymoron; he wears a peace badge, but has the words "Born to kill" written on his helmet. He does hold both the halves together and this is perhaps his most recognisable role in a film. However, I cannot decide whether his performance is genius or rubbish. Part of me feels sorry for Vincent D'Onofrio, mainly because he had to put on 70 lb for the role of Gomer Pyle. That is still a record for the largest weight gained for a role (the previous record was 60 lb, set by Robert De Niro for Raging Bull). He is identified as the one recruit who is most likely to struggle early on. However, by the end of training, everyone is expected to have become a killing machine; Gomer Pyle is much more savage than any of them. It is reminiscent of the droogs in A Clockwork Orange and Jack Torrance in The Shining, especially the stare he gives. Adam Baldwin (no relation to Stephen or Alec) also features in his most recognisable role, as "Animal Mother".

In my opinion, one of the advantages that Vietnam War films have over WWII films is the soundtrack and being able to use popular music from around the 60s. For example in Full Metal Jacket, it begins with Johnny Wright's Hello Vietnam, in a scene where all the recruits are having their hair shaved off. It tries to be uplifting with its tune, but if you hear the whole song, it does promote the war to some extent. Other popular songs used include These Boots are Made for Walkin', Chapel of Love, Woolly Bully, Surfin' Bird and Paint It Black.

One of the major difference between this film and the other major Vietnam war films is the fact it was entirely filmed in the UK. For example, most of the Da Nang sequences were filmed on the Isle of Dogs and Parris Island was mainly on an RAF base in Cambridgeshire. It was a time when the Isle of Dogs was an urban wasteland, in contrast to it nowadays.This was mainly down to Stanley Kubrick's refusal to fly. Therefore, it's British (well, another example of transnational cinema). Others had been filmed in locations including Thailand, the Philippines, etc.

I love this film. It's near perfect; here's the problem. The first half of the film is fantastic, when they are at basic training, with R. Lee Ermey. However, it kind of goes downhill slightly afterwards, when they get to Vietnam. It is a film of two halves. It wasn't as successful as the other major Vietnam films, as they all received numerous nominations at the Oscars. Full Metal Jacket only received one nomination for its screenplay. Part of the problem I think is the fact it was released so soon after Platoon. However, the basic training scenes make it unique to the others. Stanley Kubrick is a genius; it's just a shame that his next and last film, Eyes Wide Shut, was utter crap...