Four young trainee soldiers who are about to be sent overseas to fight in the Vietnam war are forced to deal with their own individual prejudices and different backgrounds after they start to suspect that one of them is gay.
Director Robert Altman relates the gripping story at a measured pace and expertly generates plenty of claustrophobic tension by keeping all the action inside of an oppressive army barracks. David Rabe's bitterly confrontational script addresses troubling issues pertaining to race, war, mortality, sexuality, and how both society and the military alike pit people against each other in an edgy and provocative manner. Moreover, it's exceptionally well acted by the four leads: Matthew Modine as sensitive intellectual Billy, David Alan Grier as the happy-go-lucky Roger, Mitchell Lichtenstein as the effeminate Richie, and Michael Wright as angry and antagonistic unhinged psycho Carlyle. Guy Boyd and George Dzundza provide darkly amusing comic relief as a pair of drunken and sadistic duty sergeants. An extremely potent and unsettling film.
Director Robert Altman relates the gripping story at a measured pace and expertly generates plenty of claustrophobic tension by keeping all the action inside of an oppressive army barracks. David Rabe's bitterly confrontational script addresses troubling issues pertaining to race, war, mortality, sexuality, and how both society and the military alike pit people against each other in an edgy and provocative manner. Moreover, it's exceptionally well acted by the four leads: Matthew Modine as sensitive intellectual Billy, David Alan Grier as the happy-go-lucky Roger, Mitchell Lichtenstein as the effeminate Richie, and Michael Wright as angry and antagonistic unhinged psycho Carlyle. Guy Boyd and George Dzundza provide darkly amusing comic relief as a pair of drunken and sadistic duty sergeants. An extremely potent and unsettling film.