G.I. JANE (1997)
A Film Review Copyright Dragan Antulov 2003
Military operates on the different principles from the rest of society; even the most liberal democracies that pride themselves with equality and freedom must recognise the need for subordination and hierarchy in its armed forces. For whole variety of reasons - economic, demographic, cultural, biological etc. - military is simply unable to be reflection of the society as a whole. In 1990s USA, on the other hand, with Soviet Empire gone and bright future in which word "war" became associated with short, painless and seemingly bloodless high-tech gadgetry, there was a widespread belief that its armed forces should reflect society - in other words, be more inclusive. One of the hot issues was the role of women in the military, namely their taking part in combat operations. Hollywood has already taken the side in this debate, led less by some noble principles of gender equality and more by realisation that young male teenagers - the most valuable part of its audience - tends to be turned on by the sight of hot babes in uniforms. This truth contributed to the production of G.I. JANE, 1997 action film directed by Ridley Scott.
The heroine of G.I. JANE is Lt. Jordan O'Neill (played by Demi Moore), US Navy intelligence officer who was not allowed to take part in combat during Gulf War. Years later, she is perfect candidate for Lillian DeHaven (played by Anne Bancroft), powerful US Seantor, currently crusading for the full integration of women into military. DeHaven manipulates Navy into allowing O'Neill to become first female trainee in SEALS, elite Navy commando force. Considering gruelling conditions during the training and fact that 60% of candidates never finish it, nobody expects O'Neill to succeed. But when her perseverance and toughness proves to be beyond expectations, she would realise that her drill instructor and nemesis, Master Chief John James Urgayle (played by Viggo Mortensen) is not her only enemy.
G.I. JANE is one of those Hollywood projects that was supposed to be many different things to many different people and became many different disappointments instead. Feminists who would like to see G.I. JANE as celebration of feminine strength and superiority would have problems with Demi Moore's silicon-enhanced breasts and fact that her look, even with shaved head, looks more fitting to some catwalk in Milan rather than tough military camp. Those who expected some serious exploration of political issues in contemporary America are going to be disappointed by weak plot and its predictable twists. Those who expected action film would have to settle with completely unnecessary battle scene in the end, in which Ridley Scott again shows his inability to direct such material (skill he apparently mastered in his future works like GLADIATOR and BLACK HAWK DOWN). The only good thing in this film comes from acting, especially in case of Viggo Mortensen, whose tough drill instructor happens to be the only multi-dimensional and believable character in the film. In the end, the debate about issues hinted in G.I. JANE is going to continue, undoubtedly fuelled by some of recent and tragic events in Iraq.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
Review written on November 21st 2003
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in Croatian http://www.ofcs.org - Online Films Critics Society
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