G.I. Jane (1997)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Danielle Alexandra (story)
David Twohy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Failure is not an option.

Plot:

A female Senator succeeds in enrolling a woman into Navy SEALS training where everyone expects her to fail.

Plot Keywords:

Navy | Navy Seal | Commando | Training | Military

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Demi Moore	...	Jordan O'Neill
Viggo Mortensen	...	Master Chief John James Urgayle
Anne Bancroft	...	Lillian DeHaven
Jason Beghe	...	Royce
Daniel von Bargen	...	Theodore Hayes (as Daniel Von Bargen)
John Michael Higgins	...	Chief of Staff
Kevin Gage	...	Instructor Pyro
David Warshofsky	...	Instructor Johns
David Vadim	...	Cortez
Morris Chestnut	...	McCool
Josh Hopkins	...	Flea
James Caviezel	...	Slovnik
Boyd Kestner	...	Wickwire
Angel David	...	Newberry
Stephen Ramsey	...	Stamm

Also Known As:

A Matter of Honor (USA) (working title)
In Pursuit of Honor (USA) (working title)
Navy Cross (USA) (working title)
Pursuit of Honor (USA) (working title)
Undisclosed (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and combat violence.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #35019) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Brazil:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Caravan Pictures

Trivia:

In the bar there are two girls named Thelma and Louise, a reference to Thelma & Louise (1991), also directed by Ridley Scott.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the first trainees are jumping out of the helicopter into the water for the S.E.R.E. training course, the sun is shown just rising over the horizon. However, the shadow cast by the helicopter's tail (viewed from inside the helicopter) indicates that the sun is instantly much higher.

Quotes:

Lt. Jordan O'Neil: You were given the Navy Cross right? May I ask what you got it for?
Master Chief John Urgayle: Since it bears on this conversation, I got it for pulling a 250-pound man out of a burning tank.
Lt. Jordan O'Neil: So stopping to save a man makes you a hero, but if a man stops to help a woman, he's gone soft?
Master Chief John Urgayle: Could you have pulled that man clear? Lieutenant, you couldn't even haul your own body weight out of the water today.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Homecoming

Maybe Demi Moore does have what it takes

I fully admit I am not the biggest Demi Moore fan in the world. As a matter of fact, she's been in some of my least favorite movies of the decade (A FEW GOOD MEN, INDECENT PROPOSAL, THE SCARLET LETTER, THE JUROR, STRIPTEASE), and she really hasn't been good in any of those. But she did win me over in this movie, because she lives up to her character's line, "Look, I'm not trying to make any sort of statement here." And she isn't. Instead of letting vanity get in the way, or injecting pathos, she lets her actions speak for her, just like her character does in trying to win acceptance as a SEAL. The haircut scene is a good example; though it's directed with cinematic flourish, she does it matter-of-fact.

Moore's performance is one of the two performances that elevate this from your standard grunts-become-soldiers movie. The other is the riveting Viggo Mortenson as the Master Chief, who's the drill instructor. He doesn't play the role as a sadistic tyrant, but rather as a subtle manipulator who gradually recognizes Jordan O'Neill(Moore) is someone worth taking seriously. He also avoids going for pathos.

The movie is best when it concentrates on the training. Ironically, making just a standard grunts-become-soldiers movie makes its message work, because like O'Neill's superiors, we take her seriously because she becomes no different than anyone else. The beginning is bad, and the climatic battle at the end is overblown, which weakens the movie. Still, it's worth a look, and I maintain Moore was only given a Razzie Award for this movie and performance because of her past work, and the naysayers really weren't paying attention to her performance here.