Cast: Izzy Diaz, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Patrick Carroll, Mike Figueroa, Ty Jones
Dir: Brian De Palma
Rating: 1/5
Brian de Palma is better known for his gangster movies that have gone on to be classics of cinema but now he gets all topical with his Iraq drama Redacted.
Redacted follows a group of soldiers who are stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq. Angel Salazar (Izzy Diaz) is an aspiring filmmaker who is intent on capturing his experience on videotape.
His fellow soldiers--Reno Flake (Patrick Carroll), Lawyer McCoy (Rob Devaney), and Gabe Blix (Kel O'Neill)--seem to be surprisingly well-adjusted at first, but it isn't long before their true colours come through.
When Reno decides to get drunk and harass an Iraqi family, the situation devolves into rape and murder, putting an incredible strain on Lawyer, who wants to expose Reno but doesn't want to rat out a fellow soldier.
In the past war movies have always been released after that particular conflict has come to an end the war on terror, which sees American and British troops still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the only war to be documented upon while the soldiers are still fighting for their countries.
Redacted follows the likes of Lions to Lambs, Stop Loss and In the Valley of Elah that have confronted the issue of the war on terror but Redacted really does go a step too far.
While De Palma may be deeply unhappy with the Bush administration and the reasons that we went to war this film really doesn’t convey that message its documentary style format and cast of limited acting ability leaves the film feeling phoney, as well as being a carbon copy of Casualties of War just not set in Vietnam.
While some of the images are quite disturbing, showing how decent human beings are pushed to the edge during a time of war, do we really need to see these images while our troops are still fighting that war?
The subject of showing the suffering of the Iraqi people is an interesting one but a concept that is truly lost as the film focuses on the deterioration of American soldiers and one man’s fight with his conscience, a scenario that is all too familiar.
Despite De Palma’s honourable intent this film delivers nothing original, a string of stereotypical characters, backed up by poor acting. It’s a very important subject that has been treated with such blatant disregard that it with serious offend many.
Redacted is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw