Review: Courage Under Fire Seeks The Truth
- Jul 15, 2018
- 2 min read
What does truth mean? And can it be found amidst the horrors of war?
The Gulf War has gone hot, and American ground troops are engaging Iraqi forces directly. Tank commander Nat Serling (Denzel Washington) finds himself engaged in a vicious tank battle when he orders an attack that results in death of one of the units under his command. Not by enemy fire, but from his own, an act that will forever haunt him. When asked to evaluate the legitimacy of helicopter pilot Captain Karen Walden’s (Meg Ryan) posthumous medal of honour, Nat discovers several different perspectives of the same event. As he struggles to find the truth in one situation, he begins to internally interrogate himself.
The Rashomon Effect is a term used to describe a specific element of storytelling. It involves the differing perspectives of several individuals regarding the same event, in this case the crash and subsequent rescue of Walden’s helicopter crew. It is arguably one of the greatest forms of storytelling, giving differing information, information that matches, character profiles, everything you need to form a story, just not a complete one. Here, in Courage Under Fire, director Edward Zwick uses it to great effect, ensuring the viewer hangs on each and every moment, desperate to know more, to know the truth, as agreeable or shocking it may be.
It always helps, in these kind of tales, to support the words with great acting, and between Meg Ryan, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Scott Glenn and Sean Astin, Courage Under Fire has that in spades. Washington is his usual cool self, albeit tormented by the horrors of his past. He effectively sells both the warrior and the broken man that returns from war. It’s Meg Ryan whoever, who stands out. She gives a different, but equally enthralling performance during each retelling.
Courage Under Fire is one of the most interesting films I’ve seen. It combines elements of doubt, PTSD and genuine character moments with just enough action to keep any audience invested. Throw in a little post-war journalism and you’ve got yourself an intriguing and easy to watch drama that will stick with you after the credits roll.
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