Tigerland [DVD]

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Description

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Louisiana, 1971. When new recruit Jim Paxton (Matthew Davis) arrives at Fort Polk for basic training he soon makes friends with the rebellious Roland Bozz (Colin Farrell), a soldier who is doing everything he can to get himself thrown out of the army. Bozz has plans to escape to Mexico, but Paxton refuses to go with him, arguing that if he doesn't go to Vietnam, then somebody else will have to go in his place. However, when Bozz makes an enemy of his vengeful and sadistic fellow recruit Wilson (Shea Whigham), the need to get out of the army becomes even more pressing. AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW Shot in the rough, 16-millimeter style of a low-budget documentary, Tigerland marked director Joel Schumacher's welcomed return to simplicity after a slew of bloated blockbusters such as Batman & Robin. In revitalising Schumacher's directorial talent, Tigerland--which is partially inspired by the Danish Dogme 95 movement of no-frills filmmaking--suggested that one solution to Hollywood's moribund "product" was to abandon excess, focus on essentials, and assemble a fine cast of unknown actors to make it all worthwhile. To that end, Tigerland also marked the deserving arrival of Irish actor Colin Farrell as Hollywood's hottest new discovery. Its story never leaves US soil, so Tigerland differs from such in-country Vietnam films as Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Instead, it's about the anxieties and moral dilemmas that arise from the anticipation of death and killing. These roiling emotions are focused on the character of Private Bozz (Farrell), whose insubordination betrays a singular knack for leadership during infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in 1971. Part RP McMurphy and part Cool Hand Luke, Bozz is a defiant maverick, barely tolerated by his superiors, challenged or revered by his fellow grunts and ultimately honed into a soldier of remarkable promise. An intense final week in the live-ammo training ground nicknamed "Tigerland" galvanises the platoon and Bozz's place in it, and although the film (partially based on co-writer Ross Klavan's own experience) lacks the emotional impact of Platoon, it deals quite poignantly with the internal conflicts that must be waged before external warfare can be endured. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com