Saving Private Ryan

First of all, this post is coming a day later than normal. I was moving house yesterday and there was a bit too much going on for me to post. I hope no-one minds this coming on Sunday. This one is about Saving Private Ryan.

In my opinion, Saving Private Ryan is the definitive modern war film. It is an absolutely classic film, and one of Steven Spielberg’s greatest. It follows a group of soldiers who are on a mission to save Private Ryan. All of his brothers have been killed in action and the American high command feel that sending Private Ryan home is the best thing to do for his mother. The soldiers, led by Tom Hanks, track down Private Ryan and attempt to take him away from the war.

Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, who is in command of the group of soldiers. There is a certain air of mystery about him for the majority of the film because while we find out little bits about the other soldiers we know very little about him. Tom Hanks is absolutely marvellous in this role though. As with most of his roles, the emotion he puts into his character is phenomenal and his command of the screen is incredibly engaging. His role as Captain Miller just adds to the long list of phenomenal roles Tom Hanks has starred in. His dedication is amazing, and the hand tremor that his character shows for much of the film is so perfectly portrayed by Hanks that it is slightly present even when it is not in focus. There’s not really much else to say about him in this role though. There’s not much more to it. He’s fantastic.

Despite being the title character, Private Ryan (Matt Damon) isn't in the film for very long at all. The band of soldiers finds him very late on, and from there the film is building up to the final battle. Matt Damon does very well in this role, but it is quite difficult to critique him too much because he just isn't in it for very long.

It is the other soldiers that I want to talk about. The band of actors who play the soldiers in Captain Miller’s command are a joy to watch. Between them they manage to perfectly convey the little family that each troop comes to represent, and the collective grief, anger and shock when one is killed is portrayed fantastically. Each actor brings a fantastic sense of camaraderie to the film. They are all very likeable in their own individual way, and there are a lot of familiar faces in there. Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi (from Friends), Adam Goldberg (Friends and A Beautiful Mind), Barry Pepper (The Green Mile, Enemy of the State, True Grit) and Tom Sizemore (Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor) jumped out at me. Jeremy Davies particularly excelled for me though, as the nervous and obviously out of place Upham. He is taken from his ‘desk job’ and planted into full combat, and does very well conveying this struggle. I found myself liking Upham increasingly right up until the final battle where his lack of hardened soldier-ness shines through. In many ways it is this team of soldiers that completes the film, rather than one actor.

Saving Private Ryan is a horribly honest film. Its depiction of the war is horrendously graphic. The scene at the beginning where the soldiers are taking the beach is one of the most graphic and gory scenes I have ever watched. The effects were absolutely phenomenal and the wounds that they convey are 100% believable. The whole thing is very gritty and is the most accurate depiction of a war that I have ever seen (though I have never been in a war so I don’t have anything to compare it to). This can only be a good thing. No film should ever try to depict a war if it is not whole-heartedly conveying just how horrendous and graphic it is. The first half and hour left me a bit shocked, so you can only imagine what it must have been like to have witnesses it first hand.

The direction of the film is breathtaking as well. Spielberg continues his interest with the Second World War and makes the film as nail-biting and realistic as is possible. Some of his off-screen direction is what really credits his abilities as a director though. The actors playing the soldiers were trained for military portrayals, and Matt Damon was deliberately left out of this so that he would be resented by the group. This comes across beautifully in the film, and the sincerity with which the soldiers question the loss of a fellow officer for one Private pays testament to this. Also, Spielberg did not storyboard the first battle scene because he wanted it to be spontaneous. It certainly is that, and the action that plays out in front of you is very impressive.

Saving Private Ryan is the ultimate war film, and is a wonderful piece of cinema. I can’t say much beyond impressing the importance of the film. Simply for the reality it portrays and for the engaging atmosphere of the whole thing this is not a film to miss. It should be a must-see on everybody’s list.