Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Edward Zwick’s “Courage Under Fire”, released in 1996, was the director’s second collaboration with star Denzel Washington. The first was their 1989 civil war film, “Glory,” a notable success and a memorable Oscar darling. “Glory” was nominated for five Academy Awards and won three, for its sound, for its cinematography (by Freddie Francis) and for Denzel Washington’s performance. Although Washington was a notable presence in Hollywood before “Glory,” Zwick’s film cemented his status as one of the best actors of his generation. It stood to reason that Zwick and Washington would work together again.
“Courage Under Fire” was another military drama, but this time it concerned the scandals and obfuscations surrounding the war in the Persian Gulf during the George HW Bush administration. Washington played Lt. Col. Nathaniel Serling, a man living with a secret. Years before, during the Gulf War, it appears that Serling accidentally blew up one of his own tanks, killing a fellow officer. The affair was covered up and Serling now works in a military office. In this position, he is asked to determine the wartime value of a fallen soldier named Colonel Karen Walden (Meg Ryan in flashbacks).
The film follows Serling’s investigation into Walden’s wartime actions. The story goes that Walden, a helicopter pilot, arrived to save a platoon of soldiers under enemy fire. She improvises an explosive in the heat of battle and blows up an enemy tank. However, his helicopter was shot down and by the time a secondary rescue helicopter was dispatched, Walden had been killed. Walden should receive a Medal of Honor for her actions (she would be the first woman to receive such an honor)… until conflicting testimony arises. Maybe it’s theorized, none of it is true.
Courage Under Fire is about the chaos of war
“Courage Under Fire” features a who’s who of notable stars. As Serling’s character investigates, he obtains testimony similar to that in “Rashomon” from several other soldiers involved in the event. He talks to the angry and seemingly untrustworthy Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips) and the shy, quiet Ilario (Matt Damon). Other military characters are played by Sean Astin, Michael Moriarty and Željko Ivanek. Scott Glenn plays a journalist and Bronson Pinchot plays a White House aide. Throughout “Courage Under Fire”, several conspiracies are revealed, and Serling can easily recognize the hallmarks of a cover-up, since he is also currently involved in such a cover-up.
“Courage Under Fire,” however, isn’t really about his conspiracy. It’s basically about sexism in the military and how doubt can easily spread about the courage of a female soldier in a combat situation. There are a lot of sexist jokes about how women are too emotional to serve and how their fear led to the deaths of their comrades. The contradictory testimonies are reconstituted in contradictory flashbacks. In one interpretation of events, Colonel Walden breaks down crying, complaining of his nerves. In another, Walden cries, but only with relief, calmly saying it was just a nervous response. Meg Ryan gives a great performance in these flashbacks, delivering much of the same dialogue, but on very different emotional notes.
Washington is also great (when isn’t he?), as he plays a generally decent character who engaged in some unscrupulous activities. He’s not a hero. He’s a complex person, and he understands that the fracas of combat can indeed lead to chaotic decisions that don’t seem so simple in retrospect.
The war was deeply criticized in the 1990s
“Courage Under Fire” is released a year before Matt Damon won an Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting”, while he was still best known for “School Ties”. It took him two years before he played the title character in Saving Private Ryan. He wasn’t a “get” yet. That he became another Hollywood megastar was a good move on Zwick’s part.
Zwick is certainly an underrated filmmaker, often tackling difficult or complex notions and characters with an accessible Hollywood sheen. “Courage Under Fire” came at a rare time in American history when America was not directly involved in notable wars and the economy was booming. Clinton had just begun his second term, and there was a feeling in the air that we might have outlived the need for such conflict. “Courage Under Fire” was therefore timely in criticizing American war efforts as attempts at corruption. War, he asserted, was always chaotic and never noble. Soldiers demonstrated great acts of courage under fire, but the government could not be trusted to recognize this. Their own sexist narratives were still part of the machinery.
“Courage Under Fire” isn’t cynical enough for its punch to land indelibly, but it’s astute and skillful enough to express its messages out loud. However, this was not widely seen. It is likely that audiences were still distracted by the super-blockbuster “Independence Day,” released only nine days earlier. Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi actioner was about chauvinistic patriotism and was as cheesy as Kansas in August. With this movie hanging in the air, maybe audiences didn’t want to hear an indictment of the U.S. military. Damage. “Courage Under Fire” is pretty good, with a solid performance from Denzel Washington at center.
