Story Movie
A young and beautiful woman, an officer of the U.S. Armed Forces, daughter of a famous general, is murdered. The investigation of the mysterious murder is entrusted to a military investigator, experienced professional Paul Brenner.
Review 4K Movie
I've never met an adaptation that was better than the source material. Yes, there are truly masterpiece films, and there are outright failures - but these are the two extremes. There is an in-between position - movies whose content matches the spirit of the source material, a kind of 'price-quality' ratio. In my mind, Simon West's “The General's Daughter,” based on the novel of the same name by Nelson DeMille, falls into this category.
Paramount Studios acquired the screen rights from the author back in 1992, shortly before the book went to press, but the film was not released until 1999. The script was rewritten several times; as a result, there were events that are not in the book, and some of the main characters changed their names. For example, Captain Ann Campbell (the General's daughter) became Elizabeth, investigator Cynthia Sunhill turned into Sarah, etc. As DeMille himself said, he wouldn't have been surprised if his book had eventually been made into a musical 'Lizzie'. Fortunately, it got around that. Not only that, but the movie was that rare case where the author was happy with the adaptation.
The plot basis of the book as a whole did not suffer. General Campbell's daughter is found on a firing range - dead, undressed, tied to tent pegs, probably raped. The investigation is assigned to military investigator Paul Brenner, who must provide a result as soon as possible. Ideally, before the FBI gets involved in the investigation.....
To be honest, I bought the book five years ago, and reread it many times, but I only got to the movie last week... As a result, I got the impression that I was introduced to an alternative version of the novel. For example, while at the beginning of the movie Brenner (John Travolta) tries to drive a wedge into the General's daughter (Leslie Stefanson), in the book he sees her dead for the first time. DeMille focuses more on the investigative procedure and Brenner's relationship with his partner - the screenwriters, on the other hand, shift the focus to the political. The story of an investigation in which the outcome is important turns into a conspiracy to close the case as quickly as possible. The biographies of some of the book's heroes are radically reshaped, some colorful characters are relegated to the background, new events and actors are added... but the quality of the film is not ultimately affected.
The characters look quite organic and natural. Brenner-Travolta is a kind of witty self-taught man in a bad suit, who is not ashamed to pretend to be a complete redneck, but in reality is a very savvy and competent specialist, for whom subordination exists only as long as the senior does not break the law. His partner Sarah Sunhill (Madeline Stowe), despite her outward subtlety, can easily destroy an opponent morally, without removing the smile from her face. Captain Liz Campbell is an eye-catching, bright blonde, cut under a bob; a cutie, looking at which, at once, you can not say that in reality she, wanting to take revenge on her father, slept with all the officers of Fort McCallum, practicing mainly S&M style. The tandem of General Campbell and his adjutant, Colonel Fowler, looks very successful - longtime colleagues who went through fire and water together, and now vindicating each other for the sake of future political career on the civilian. However, the interpretation of the image of Colonel Moore, to put it mildly, puzzled - nervous 'nerd' turned into a rather sarcastic gay. And the head of the military police of the garrison, Colonel Kent disappointed ... However, the ideal as such a priori unattainable.
The development of events also does not cause any particular complaints. Despite the fact that the fictional Fort McCallum, as well as quite real West Point and Fort Benning were filmed without the help of the army, even Vietnam veteran DeMille did not find obvious bloopers in the filming of army routine. True, at night exercises soldiers for some reason without night vision devices, but here you can discount the time factor - on the screen events of the eighties. I personally did not notice any hurrah-patriotic pathos. I knew who the murderer was from the very beginning - I had read the book - but for the uninitiated it would be more than problematic to identify him at first sight. And at the end he is very spectacularly blown up by an anti-personnel mine - the very case when proximity to the source material is sacrificed for the sake of spectacle, but it was not to the detriment of the movie.
The end of the movie looks quite logical: the general goes to the plane. Straight posture, many years of dressing - and the face of a morally crushed man. A man who twice stepped over his own daughter - once for the prestige of the army and promotion, the second time for the sake of political career, but realized too late that there are more important things. So the final credits, where it is said about his further fate, is quite natural.
Bottom line: Simon West's second movie was a success. Including in commercial terms (box office in the U.S. amounted to $102,678,089 with a budget of $60,000,000). And liberties in the treatment of the source material can be forgiven - good thing, the adaptation turned out to be quite worthy.
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