Casualties of War (1989) * * *

 

Directed by:  Brian DePalma

Starring:  Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Harvey, John C. Reilly, Dale Dye, John Leguizamo, Thuy Thu Le, Ving Rhames, Sam Robards

Pvt. Eriksson (Fox) finds himself in the unenviable position of having scruples in an unscrupulous Vietnam War.   When his squad leader Sgt. Meserve (Penn) kidnaps a young Vietnamese woman from a remote village and brings her along to be raped and later murdered by himself and the rest of the squad, Eriksson is alone in his unwillingness to commit the atrocities.   But what can he really do to stop them?  He is outnumbered, outgunned, and tries his best to save the woman, but he finds his moral objections simply aren't enough to sway Meserve and the rest from committing crimes against this innocent bystander.

Based on a true story, Casualties of War is a story of how difficult it is to keep your morals intact when up against a hostile group who not only want you to agree with their crimes, but to commit them yourself.  In Meserve's world, you are either with him or against him.   Failure to rape the Vietnamese woman means you are probably Viet Cong yourself.   What drives Meserve?   What made him decide to kidnap, torment, rape, and kill a civilian?    Did the war make him snap or was this his pathology all along?   Does he hate this woman as a symbol of all of Vietnam, or does he just hate in general?  

Eriksson and Meserve have tense showdowns, with Eriksson holding his ground amidst threats, insults to his manhood, and the possibility of being killed by "friendly fire" or even the enemy.   When Eriksson returns to base, he survives attempts on his life as he presses his superiors to bring charges against Meserve and his crew.   The superiors would rather keep it quiet, with one tacitly siding with Meserve,  ("I've heard a lot of screaming, most of it from wounded American soldiers")

Casualties of War isn't just a good vs. evil story.   Michael J. Fox plays the everyman Erkisson whom most of us can relate to.   We think we would react as he does to Meserve's crimes, but trying to decipher the multiple dimensions of Penn's Meserve is where we find ourselves in a quandary.   He is a dedicated soldier and an influential leader, certainly enough to sway his troops into raping and pillaging.  Without people who follow, it isn't possible to lead.   Without a war, would Meserve even consider such actions?    Penn has a Noo Yawk accent and wild eyes, and we can't help but wonder what makes him tick even as we are repelled by his actions.   Fox's role is steadier and with fewer question marks about his character.   

Casualties of War trips up with a prologue and epilogue which doesn't fit and robs some of the suspense.   There isn't a happy ending which would naturally fit this material, but the movie tries as it is told in flashback with Eriksson crossing paths with a Vietnamese woman who looks just like the one who was killed in Vietnam.   I guess DePalma figures it's worth a try, since Vietnam itself did not allow for any sort of hopeful feeling when it was over.