The Michigan Daily -Friday, September 8, 1989- Page 13 Casualties of War: Missing in action BY TONY SILBER' If you arrived recently from Planet Mars and have visited your local movie theater, you might think the Vietnam War is still going on. With such an abundance of films on the subject, who would think the war has been over for more than 15 years? The latest installment in this in- creasingly exhausted genre comes from experienced director Brian DePalma (The Untouchables, Scarface). His contribution, Casualties of War, is based on a true story reported by Daniel Lang in New Yorker magazine. The twist of this film is that American soldiers are portrayed as the bad guys in Vietnam, a fresh, but not surprising, view. The story involves the moral- ity of soldiers kidnapping a Vietnamese woman on a whim, bru- tally raping her, and inevitably mur- dering her. Michael J. Fox leads the young cast as Eriksson, the wet-behind-the- ears, just three weeks in Vietnam moral crusader who refuses to stand by quietly and watch his fellow sol- diers act in this detestable manner. Sean Penn, out of jail, shares top billing with Fox as Sgt. Meserve, a cross between a young John Wayne and a drunk James Cagney. He de- vises the plan of savagery and acts as the catalyst for all the violence that his men do. The seeds of a classic confronta- tion seem to be in place: Fox as the protaganist protector of all that is good and right against Penn, the evil and callous battle-worn killer. But something goes wrong. DePalma has miscalculated something. That con- frontational chemistry between the two characters that could potentially light the film on fire never really ma- terializes. The potential success of Casualties of War is dependent first on delivering a controversial new story from the depths of the Vietnam experience, and that it does. But it must also evolve as a characters' film, a battle of philosophies, a war within a war, and in that respect it falls short. In devoting the film to its story instead of its characters, DePalma has committed a key error in his direc- tion. Based upon many of his films from the past, this is understandable, but there are two exceptions: Scarface and Carrie. These are films which fo- cus on one character. But Casualties needs to focus on two, and regretfully it does not. There are problems with both Fox's and Penn's performances, but more so with Penn's. With a base- ball-sized wad of tobacco in his mouth, it's no surprise that half his lines are mumbled and ridiculous- sounding. Fox doesn't fit nicely into the Vietnam mold. He's too proper and removed, but this attempt at drama is admirable and encouraging. In order to count the number of Vietnam films that have been made in the last five years, you need an abacus. In order to count the number of great, memorable films in that group, you need but one hand. Casualties of War will have plenty of company in the abacus group. CASUALTIES OF WAR is now showing at Showcase Cinemas. Madonna-less Sean Penn and laugh track-less Michael J. Fox play, respectively, a bad guy and a good guy in Brian DePalma's latest magnum opus, Casualties of War. DePalma's handling of the ever-popular Vietnam theme is disappointing - his misdirection sabotages the film. * Rad WeN As a campus representative youll be responsible for placing advertising materials on bulletin a ' boards and working on marketing programs for clients such as American Express, Boston University, Eurall, and various movie companies, among others. Part-time work, choose your own hours. No sales. Many of our reps stay with us long after graduation. If you are self-motivated, hard- working, and a bit of an entrepreneur, call or write for more information to: AMERICAN PASSAGE NETWORK 6211 W. HOWARD STREET CHICAGO, IL 60648 1(800) 727-6783 or (312) 647-6860 CHICAGO DALLAS LOS ANGELES NEW YORK SEATTLE University of Wisconsin Platteville Study in aimn Emphases in Liberal Arts International Business Courses available in Spanish aoi in English Fluency in Spanish not required All courses approved by UW-Platteville and validated on an official UW-Platteville transcript $3425 per semester for Wisconsin & Minnesota residents. $3675 per semester for non-residents. £q C" G ti , 3.4._ Shone x ;: :rs f y" a :..you....d...l....ease....... * ~f ~rv~tn*w wrnsCne MICHIGANENSIAN. Is it communicable? e r i iu e ,r h } H4f1r3)£:&d am} - ,. {_ . , ... __ ; . iB- rn -rn-- _ _,_..._ 3 , f e }>~inca, l En g> Y? n 3 * ~AC}~a,?. Bic) g N(~ 'j~.,7.pYNrxI 'y c N> / ' Io excel in any major, make a minor inLJvestment. -rn-rn-oo fx-300A #$1g6.95*^ f . k. 1 ] 4.. ' - a:N k Na;P! _.. t .; . t: ' ... I _<;' .: ,. _.... 1 f -rn-o X 0 *:m ,,v -hN1aI ThcSystem Nrr')cu ('4ilr RBchto fx-115N *24.95* gi I*ri' P C n . Dat P'ess r n s g Egineerin N .NN~'N/ ~ r(-teorn ~ .N .Y2 ~ i.. *. * nVomnnQ i....ar Bl 4