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Rating: 4 out of 5
One of the hardest things probably known to the US military is coming home after deployment or war. The transition must be hard as some people have PTSD from what they have seen and been through. My dad fought in Vietnam and was behind enemy lines for 63 days. Just imagine coming home after that experience, and everything is calm. No explosions, no firefights, and no people dying around you; it is just family and quiet. How does one’s emotions and mind handle all of that? Also, how does one feel that everyone is against you and the war when you return? Many people protested the Vietnam War, and just imagine coming home after being drafted, and people don’t even respect you.
Coming Home is a 1978 film directed by Hal Ashby from a screenplay written by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones with a story by Nancy Dowd. In 1968, Sally (Fonda), a loyal military wife, is married to U.S. Marine Corps Captain Bob Hyde (Dern). Bob is about to be deployed to Vietnam and believes this is a major opportunity to advance his career. Bob drinks, breathes, and lives everything the military has to offer. Both understand Bob’s role in life to fight in Vietnam and defend the country. With Bob gone, Sally feels isolated but soon realizes that she has freedom and now must think of ways to survive without her husband. After a talk with her friend, Vi Munson (Milford), the girlfriend of Bob’s colleague Sergeant Dink Mobley, Sally decides to volunteer at the local VA hospital where Vi works. While working in the VA, Sally’s view of life and the war changes as she meets many injured veterans who have been emotionally and physically scarred by the war. One of the vets she becomes close to is Sergeant Luke Martin (Voight). Luke is a spiteful man as the war has left him a paraplegic, but he also knew Sally from high school. Soon, Luke and Sally become close, which soon develops into a romantic relationship even though Sally states she loves Bob. When Bob returns from Vietnam earlier than expected, shit goes down, and everyone must choose what is best for them.
Rather than a film about what soldiers go through when they come home from war, the story is more of a love story that becomes a love triangle. I really don’t know if Sally was feeling Bob. She seemed like she was unhappy with the whole military life. Maybe she was happy but needed more entertainment. With Luke, he was just a straight-up dick in the beginning as he rolled around in his bed. It felt like his hatred was more about the situation he was in. As the two forces come together, they seem like they are really feeling each other. Maybe it was because Luke was far more charming and outgoing, but a major spark developed.
The love story is quite interesting because Sally states that she loves Bob but is drawn to Luke. She invites him to dinner, and they almost kiss a few times. After trying to kiss, they start hooking up. Sally even states that she had her first orgasm. Bob, what the hell were you doing in the sack? Gotta make love to your woman. I actually felt like the relationship would work towards the end. The reason was because each person grew in their own way. Sally grew and found independence. She also discovered what it meant to be loved and got her groove on. Luke found happiness with Sally and seemed to not be angry at his new world. The scene with him and the kids was special.
Rather than a full-on love story, the film made sure to add scenes of pain and disappointment. When Sally goes to Honk Kong and sees Bob, Bob has completely changed. Dude has seen some shit, and he is always on edge. His mind is all over the place, and his hair is straight up wild. Luke has seen some stuff at home. When Billy commits suicide, Luke chains himself to the recruiting depot. He loses his shit because he knows the war will kill many more people after they come home. Yet, the scary scene is when Bob finds out about the affair. This is when shit hits the fan. The intensity, hurt, fear, and pain he shows is spot on. I thought he was going to kill everyone. Somehow, they make it out of it, but you can see that war really messed up Bob.
Jane Fonda as Sally Hyde was good, but I don’t know if it was Academy Award worth. I saw another performance she was in, and that performance was way better. She was calm and played the loving wife, but her performance didn’t impress me.
Jon Voight as Luke Martin was by far the best performance in this film. You could see how angry, spiteful, and hurt he was when he was in the hospital. He seemed to lose all hope in the world. When he met Sally, the love and hope in his eyes and life seemed to come back. He smiled more and really showed that he cared for Sally. Also, by the end, we see that Luke finds peace with being a speaker.
Bruce Dern as Captain Bob Hyde was okay initially, but dude came on strong as a supporting actor. When he came back home, dude was unhinged or, as I tell my employee, “You are wounded up tighter than a yo-yo.” When he snapped, dude snapped, and I thought he would shoot everyone. Dern was great because homeboy couldn’t take it anymore.
Coming Home is a decent romance/passion film that somewhat explains the trials of someone who went to war and returned. It also showed how loved ones at home dealt during this period. The cast was excellent as they were the ones who held this film up. Hold on to the ones that you deem special.
