Tigerland

Tigerland

Vietnam films always seem to be fairly depressing. Casualties of war bases itself around rape. The deer hunter involves Russian roulette and psychological torture. Full metal jacket tackles suicide and eventually full on war scenarios. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a film about Vietnam which distances itself from these other classics. No actual war scenes and more character based, Tigerland manages to entertain without feeling the need to be shockingly violent. This isn't to say that the film is all love and peace, of course blood flows and psychological issues raise their ugly head but it is a film about war!

Joel Schumacher has created some classic films but none that would be described as really meaningful. The lost boys and Batman forever are good films but pretty much popcorn material. This represents more of a similar tone to A time to kill. Development of characters and the bringing about of emotions. The cast are (or were at the time) relatively unknowns. Colin Farrell takes the lead as Bozz, an out of control army recruit who has no time for war but has leadership qualities which others are lacking. The story follows Bozz as he befriends Paxton and tries to get as many people out of going to Vietnam. Of course he manages to piss a lot of people along the way and makes quite a few enemies, which makes for interesting relationships between Bozz, his comrades and his superiors.

The rest of the cast are noticeable, Cole Hauser from 2 fast 2 furious, Clifton Gonalez from Traffic and each person plays a significant part in the storyline. The running time is fairly short for a film of this scope, yet it never feels rushed and the time is used well. Farrell excels again and its amazing how, from starring in Ballykissangel he has grown to a Hollywood superstar.

There are still exaggerated characters which bare resemblance to R.Lee Emery in Full metal jacket but no Vietnam film would be complete without these. Although, these do lead to scenes of victimisation they also bring about a degree of humour which can lighten the mood. Really well shot with interesting emotions running throughout, Farrell's back catalogue of good solid films continues to grow.