living in the beauty of dirtyfaith

My wife and I watched this a couple of months ago and found this to be a good, thought-provoking movie. Some people we know were thrilled that it bombed at the box office because of the political stand it takes (overall) against the war. That being said the movie needs to be judged on a number of ideas not just that it is anti-war.

First, the acting. Superb. Tom Cruise did an excellent job as a pro-war Senator trying to make a name for himself. Meryl Streep was outstanding in her job as a reporter who is granted an exclusive interview with Cruise’s character because of a favorable piece she did on the Senator years back when he was just beginning his career. And Robert Redford, well, what can you say. His acting and directing, in my opinion, is gold.

Second, the story-line. Fascinating. Set in real-time, in three different time zones across the world. The only irritation was that Cruise’s character and Streep’s character were in one room the entire movie (but the dialogue more than made up for this). It actually tells three different stories that seem very unrelated but are pulled together at the end and create a beautiful tension between various political ideas of war and also a tension of how those various ideas cause us to choose different things. It leaves the viewer somewhat in a difficult position. The movie itself is obviously anti-war but one of the three story lines deals with two young men who volunteer for the military as the best way to serve their country. It (the movie) gives them great respect and treats them fairly in the decision(s) they have made. Just in that last point alone, the movie is commendable.

Third, the theme. I think Robert Redford’s character said it best when he communicated to a student he was counseling that it is easy to complain about the way things are (which many younger americans tend to do) and that his generation (the student’s) was one that tended to complain a lot and and not actually do anything. Rome is burning….DO something is his advice to this young, once promising student. It really brings up issues of peace and war and various responses to them. Just because it is an anti-war movie doesn’t mean that the interaction between Streep’s character and Cruise’s is simply anti-war, anti-Bush rhetoric. It isn’t. It is thoughtful, engaging and really makes you wrestle with the good points that each is trying to make.

It is a fascinating movie that will take you in, make you think, and perhaps, just perhaps, be motivated to stop complaining about issues and start doing something to see the type of change you want to see happen.