Tigerland, a review by Jon
Tigerland
4 out of 5
Just released from the base stockade, brash, charismatic recruit Roland Bozz (Farrell) joins a platoon of young soldiers preparing to ship out to Vietnam. Bozz's independence and outright defiance draws fire from his own men as well as commanding officers who can't afford conflict in the middle of a war. But when the paltoon is sent to Tigerland, a hellish training ground that is the last stop before Vietnam, Bozz's leadership and character bring his men together - triggering extraordinary circumstances.Joel Schumacher was once a promising director, who took the rock 'n' roll excess of The Lost Boys and eventually disappeared up his own backside with Batman and Robin, widely accepted as one of the worst films ever made and so bad, he and star George Clooney actually apologised for it! For him to come back from that with Tigerland is simply astonishing. What's next? Michael Bay does Bergman?
The first thing you notice is how gritty the film is. Low budget, back to basics 16mm with a washed out, high-contrast palette and a handheld camera that moves beautifully between characters. Edits are where they need to be and there isn't a single gratuitous shot in the film. It's convincingly raw, with some nudity, but it's filmed almost like a documentary.
But for all the work done to make it look like a proper film, Schumacher has picked an easy subject to break out his artistic side on. The clichés of the young men going to war have been done to death, especially Vietnam which forms the back drop to this story. He could set the cast on auto-pilot and he'd still get a cool film.
So that's the second surprise. He directs a superb, almost all-male cast to deliver performances to match the realism of his camera, working from a lean script by Ross Klavan and Michael McGruther. While on paper, the simple plot seems to check all the boxes for A War Film, it feels bitingly fresh. The closest I can liken it too is Band of Brothers, yet that realistic dialogue and low-key delivery is set-up in the first scene without the comforting wider goalposts of a TV series. TV also has the advantage of switching focus between characters, but here most of the weight is on Colin Farrell's shoulders. His character, Bozz, is the heart of the film and it's a confident and charismatic performance. All of them though give well judged performances that work with one another, where the average war film concentrates on one character at a time. Bozz is their anchor.
It's a lyrical film, with a poetic finale and Bozz is enigmatic enough that if he'd turned out to be a ghost, I wouldn't have been surprised! He seems to stand against the army on everything, understands why, helps others find their deserved way out, yet he can't leave. He isn't a ghost by the way! It's that contrast between the philosophy and the raw reality that makes the film quite unique. In that sense, it bears some comparison with The Thin Red Line, except I think this is more rewarding and personal. Bozz could be a bit like Jim Cavaziel's character in that film, with more vigour.
There is little action, as it is a story about training, centring on Bozz finding his place in the army. Tigerland is the final training ground and actually, the film is at it's weakest when the troops finally get there. Then it feels a little old, but not for long. Even if the ending is a bit obvious, you won't mind because it makes sense. In the end, no-one involved on this film ever attempts to be smug and they stay true to the plot.
Whatever you think of military based films, this is worth a try. It breathes life into an old genre while being a small, philosophical work about the nature of war and the men who fight it.
(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 20th, 2009)
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May 18, 2024, 02:49:55 AM
