The General's Daughter (1999) * * *

 

Directed by:  Simon West

Starring:  John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Leslie Stefanson, Timothy Hutton, James Woods, Clarence Williams III

Experienced army warrant officers Paul Brunner (Travolta) and Sara Sundhill (Stowe) have never witnessed a murder scene like the one of Capt. Elisabeth Campbell (Stefanson)whose body was found staked to the ground, spread eagle, and strangled (possibly raped as well).  She is the daughter of General Joseph Campbell (Cromwell), who is on the shortlist for a vice-presidential run.  It is a harrowing scene and sets the tone for The General's Daughter in which the military sets its own rules for justice that promote the needs of the army over the needs of a brutalized soldier.  

Elisabeth had a grudge against her father, stemming from her days at West Point, and in recent years has taken on psychological warfare in which the enemy was "daddy".  You'll see why.  Her direct superior Col. Robert Moore (Woods) knows her story, but only hints at it when being interrogated and later jailed as a murder suspect by Brunner.   Woods is Elisabeth's mentor in psychological warfare tactics, and harbors secrets of his own.

There are numerous suspects since Elisabeth engaged in kinky sexual activities and used men as mere sex toys.  This was likely part of the war against her father, who surely disapproved of her social life.  The General's Daughter is a darker whodunit with a sense of outrage over the events of the past which changed both Elisabeth's and her father's life.  Watch Elisabeth's face when she is visited by her father in the hospital.  Her expression turns from gratitude and love to absolute heartbreak and even terror.  It is a powerful scene which delivers us an understanding of what will come after.   Paul and Sara are former lovers who hint at their past while trying to solve this heinous crime which could rock the foundations of the army, especially since the general has political aspirations.   I'm not certain why they needed to have a past, except to provide some levity from the movie's darker atmosphere.  

The General's Daughter is well-paced with performances which work within the genre.  When all is revealed and the consequences doled out, there is not exactly a catharsis because The General's Daughter almost functions on the level of tragedy.   How could it not?