0
0
Rating:
“I can’t believe we’re fighting each other when we should be fighting them.”
-Chris Taylor
Platoon is a film that is gritty, intense and sometimes repulsive from the view of the main character that witnesses the horrors of not the opposing army but from within his own unit. A unit that you would figure to be a family but more of opposing forces between two influential figures. Written and directed by Oliver Stone. After his own tour of duty in the Vietnam War that ended in 1968, Stone wrote a screenplay called, Break, a semi-autobiographical account detailing his life with his decision to serve and the experience he had with his parents and the members around him in war. Stone used this screenplay as the basis of Platoon.
My dad served in the United States Marine Corps and fought in the Vietnam War. He was drafted at the young age of 18. Before watching this film, I wanted to know more about the platoon my dad fought with. I thought it would be interesting to hear about the people that fought beside him. I let my dad know I was watching Platoon and wanted to know about his platoon. The first question I asked was, “Tell me about your platoon and the members in it?” My dad paused for a second and explained that he didn’t know anyone from his platoon but only some members of his squad. I was perplexed by this answer. How couldn’t he know anyone? My dad continued with saying, “The reason I didn’t know anyone was because the first and most important thing the commanders told us when we got off the plane was: Not to get familiar or make friends with the people in your squad/fire team. If you become best friends and they get killed, you might be too affected to fight. You are here to fight and not make friends. The person to your left or right probably won’t be here at the end. Once again, don’t get too close to anyone.”
My dad went on to explain that the only members he knew were the men in his fire team, which consisted of a fire team leader, two riflemen, and an automatic rifle. My dad paused and then said, “What they said was true. When my platoon was ambushed, everyone around me was killed but the machine gunner in my squad. The only reason we became best friends was that after the ambush, we were lost in the jungle for 58-days and he was the only person to talk to during that time.”
Platoon is narrated and through the eyes of freshly landed Chris Taylor (Sheen). Taylor is a young, naive American who gave up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. As one of the characters states, “You volunteered for this s**t? What’s wrong with you? It’s going to be a long year for you.” Upon landing at the airbase, Taylor quickly sees what he is in store for as body bags are placed by the plane. Taylor is immediately thrown into a unit as he walks through the oppressive humidity and world of the Vietnam jungle. Taylor quickly learns that he is considered an outcast by his unit and that his life means nothing to them as he has not fought in the war as long as any of them. Taylor soon learns that his notions about the unit he is in are not what it seems. The two non-commissioned officers that are in command are at odds with each other and how things should be done. On one side is the hard-ass, set in his ways Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes (Berenger) and on the other side is the relaxed and fun-loving Sergeant Elias Grodin (Dafoe). After some distinct little skirmishes and an incident in a village, everything comes ahead with the two officers. A line is drawn between the two men as the platoon picks sides on who to support. As the war continues, Taylor’s grip on reality and the world slowly crumbles around him. As he struggles to find his place in this new world, he soon realizes that he is fighting on two fronts: one with the enemy and the other with the men in his own platoon.
What I love about this movie and what Stone brilliantly shows is the descent of fear, disorientation, and madness that takes over the platoon but most importantly the power struggle within a group that fuels the fear and disorientation. This is the main point and topic of the whole movie. That the enemy is not the people across from you but the people that are supposed to be on your side. As time goes on, you see what the course of the war has on him and the others. After the first mini-skirmish and ambush, dissension slowly starts to show its ugly head. As Sgt. Barnes gives his speech, his Lt. isn’t too happy because he was considered disrespectful in front of the men and his rank. Things slowly go downhill when one of the men is killed and strung up for all to see outside a village. Sgt. Barnes’s face shows that he is on the warpath. This leads the platoon to ravage a small village. They kill and terrorize the villagers. Hell, the once naïve Taylor loses his complete mind as he berates a one-leg, one-eyed villager. He shoots around him and askes him to dance over and over again. The scene is quite despicable. After the village incident, the real split happens within the group as Sgt. Grodin files a report against several men and Sgt. Barnes. Half the men are on the hard-ass Sgt. Barnes side and the other are on laid back Sgt. Grodin side. Boy does it make for an intense and awkward work environment. Stone brilliantly shows this when the men are stationed at the base. In Sgt. Grodin’s tent, it’s almost like all the cool, laid back crew is in it. Motown is being played, dancing, dim lights with a calming atmosphere and the drug use. It looks like a really good time. In Sgt. Barnes area, there is country music being played, bright white light, and the men are playing cards.
The story has no set time or plot to it. Stone makes you feel like you are immersed with the platoon at hand. One minute, we’re watching the platoon walking through the hot jungle. We can see and tell that it is a horrible place as the men seem miserable as the struggle with the terrain and environment. It is not a place one should be. As the main character states so eloquently, “Hell is the impossibility of reason.” That’s what this place feels like. Hell.” We see the men making foxholes and while doing daily tasks. The next we see the men patrolling the grounds while coming upon villages and enemy camps. The realization that Stone makes the audience realize is that no two days are alike during the war. One day could be calm and playful, and the next it could be a total s**tshow. What the movie plays on so well is the constant fear of an attack. The constant fear of today might be one of the men’s final last day. Stone shows this when the men come upon an enemy bunker. It is abandoned, and no one is around. As the men look and search, a bomb goes off, killing one of the men while another is kidnapped and strung up like a scarecrow. Fear ultimately takes over the platoon when they have to defend a position. As the enemy army is approaching, many members of the platoon can sense the danger and want to leave to save their own skin, yet they must meet their impending doom.
The cast is phenomenal in this movie. I must give a mini shout-out to the people in this movie. Tom Berenger as Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes and Willem Dafoe as Sergeant Elias were perfect in this movie. They both played the yin and yang of the group. Berenger played his hard-ass role so well that you believed he was destined for war while Dafoe seemed like the one who should be surfing. Kevin Dillion as Bunny was great as he appeared to be a kid looking for an idol or one to impress. He would do anything for Barnes and stayed with him and his beliefs. Also, this movie had so many people that are HUGE today. Keith Davis as King was great. It even had Forest Whitaker and a young Johnny Depp. I don’t event think Depp said two words, but there he was. Then there is Sheen. He played his role nicely and moved the story along. He didn’t seem too overbearing or even overacted.
Platoon is a great war movie that explores the dynamics of a group along with the effects of a war on the human mind and soul. The constant fear of an attack establishes a split amongst a group. A group that is supposed to fight together rather than each other. Director Oliver Stone must be commended with making a war movie that makes working in groups even more hated.
