VividSimon Simply Perfect

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

SimonJack This film has enough mystery and intrigue to make it interesting. But, it's a dark story concerning a West Point rape cover-up and later murders. Some scenes are graphic with violence and sexual activity. Only mature adults should watch this film, and even then I don't recommend it. I only watched it because it was billed as being based on a true story, and I have military background in my family. Yet, I've since tried to find verification of this and it's nowhere to be found on the Internet. I discount the Wikipedia entry checked on this date (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General%27s_Daughter_(film), that says the film is "based on true story" (sic). In fact, "The General's Daughter" is based on a 1992 novel of the same name by Nelson DeMille. In a forward to his book, DeMille doesn't claim that it is based on a true story. Instead, he says, "This story could happen anywhere, anytime — in fact, you may find some similarities in this story to a Greek tragedy. But what happens in 'The General's Daughter' couldn't happen quite like this, except on a modern American military base." So, it's a clear piece of fiction, even though the end trailer implies otherwise. The trailer, just before the credits run, reads, "General Joseph Campbell was court-martialed and found guilty for his involvement in the cover-up of his daughter's rape. He subsequently withdrew from public life." Apparently that was part of the story in the book. But when the film doesn't run a disclaimer that the story and characters are fictitious, the film's ending can mislead many, or most viewers. Most of the cast in this film are all good. A few seem wooden. John Travolta is CID Warrant Officer Paul Brenner. Madeleine Stowe is his sidekick, Warrant Officer Sara Sunhill. James Cromwell plays Lt. Gen. Joseph Campbell. Leslie Stefanson is his daughter, Capt. Elizabeth Campbell. The performances of the rest of the cast are mixed. The military setting, at a fictional Army base in Georgia, doesn't seem quite real. Paramount built the sets and filmed the movie at four sites in Georgia and two in California. But none of these were Army installations. The point of clear fiction aside, the story is intriguing. But the screenplay doesn't do a very good job of telling the story. I didn't read the book, but from its reviews on line it probably was more coherent than the movie with the various incidents. The film is choppy in places, it leaves holes and fails to answer significant questions that arise. For instance, Brenner doubts that Col. Robert Moore (played by James Woods) committed suicide. He says it was made to look that way. But it ends there and we never find out who killed Moore. When Brenner learns the names of the men who raped Elizabeth at West Point, he offers the list to Gen. Campbell, who refuses to take it. But the film never says if those men were brought to justice. The book did cover those things, but the movie doesn't. The opening scene with credits rolling shows Brenner driving his car through an area while combat training is underway. That wouldn't happen in real life. A brief overhead shot that was supposed to be West Point above the Hudson River looked like a photograph or painting. Little things like that lessen the film's sense of realism and accuracy.With a tighter script and much better set work and shooting, this could have been a very good murder mystery and look at psychology in the Army. It's just so-so as it is; and Paramount clearly goofs by not running a disclaimer that the film is fiction. A featurette with the DVD gives some interesting details about the making of the film. It's called, "Behind the Secrets."

Scott LeBrun John Travolta stars as Paul Brenner, a charismatic man in the Army's C.I.D. unit. Paul is called upon to solve the strange rape & murder of the title character, Elizabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson). Paul gets paired with a rape investigator named Sara Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe), who just happens to be a former flame of his. As Paul and Sara work the clues, they discover a string of characters who all have their secrets to hide. And it becomes apparent that the Army's main concern is keeping things quiet and maintaining the public image.While far from a great story, this is still an absorbing one. There's a very tragic and somber arc that stems from the Elizabeth Campbell character being a *very* troubled individual. The story isn't always too believable, but director Simon West keeps the plot progressing in competent enough fashion, with a couple of twists along the way. The more serious and sordid elements are sometimes contrasted with not terribly amusing banter between Travolta and Stowe.The exemplary supporting cast is the main reason to watch. Travolta lays on the goofy charm a bit much at first (and does a deliberately bad Southern accent for too long a time), but as the movie goes on, the better his performance gets. He and Stowe are able to create some chemistry. Stefanson is effective as the victim, and James Cromwell as her general father is completely convincing. Clarence Williams III also scores strongly as the generals' comrade, who's loyal to the core. The real standout is the always dynamic James Woods, as Elizabeths' mentor; the scenes where he and Travolta are attempting to outwit each other are just about the best in the movie.Well shot (by Peter Menzies Jr.) and decently paced, "The General's Daughter" manages to be watchable for a little under two hours.Seven out of 10.

Wuchak 1999's "The General's Daughter" takes place at and around a coastal Georgia military base. John Travolta plays an Army investigator who teams up with Madeleine Stowe, a woman he once had an affair with (yeah right), to solve the ugly murder of the daughter of the commanding officer, herself a captain.Whether you like Travolta or not, there's no denying his star power. He easily carries this film as the protagonist from beginning to end. The real cast highlight for me, however, is the stunning Madeleine Stowe (remember her from 1992's excellent "Last of the Mohicans"?). Throughout most of the film Madeleine wears a white sleeveless shirt and form-fitting tan-ish slacks; she's just spellbinding. The film is rated R and for good reason. There are numerous scenes of a naked woman staked out spread-eagled, both alive and dead. Besides murder, the picture features overt elements of S & M and gang rape. This may turn some potential viewers away, but the film is worth sticking with if you can brace yourself for the sordid aspects. How so? Because "The General's Daughter" powerfully shows that sexual abuse must be addressed and not shoved under the rug. Inner wounds must be properly bound and healed, not dismissed with a casual shrug.My wife and I recently saw a fascinating documentary on prostitutes. I never could understand how a woman could have sexual relations (especially oral sex) with some dirty, smelly sleazebag for money. It's gag-inducing to me. With one exception every prostitute interviewed confessed to being sexually abused while growing up. The abuse was never properly addressed and, consequently, no real inner-healing could take place. The abuse literally damned the women to a sordid life of self-loathing and self-destruction. My heart goes out to them! The sleazy sexual elements are so in-your-face in "The General's Daughter" that it's hard to look past it to the meat of the story. The unaddressed sexual abuse of the General's daughter leads to a promiscuous and deviant lifestyle, resulting -- of course -- in misery and (ultimately) destruction.Travolta's character briefly knew the general's daughter before her murder. What compels him to solve the murder and enact justice & vengeance on the direct and indirect perpetrators (aside from the fact that it's his job) is that he clearly saw a genuine gleam of beauty and life in her. Reviewer Steven Quan understandably objects that, if she was as horribly abused as depicted in the story, she wouldn't be so vibrant and perky. But, nevertheless, this vibrancy and inner beauty is authentic. Travolta knows it because he experienced it. It's a glimpse of who she really was or could be, a glimmer of her potential as a woman and a human being. True, most of it may merely be a public veneer, an act she hides behind, but the flimsy root is REAL. Unfortunately it's overshadowed by her raw torment within, inner pain so great that it compels her to ridiculously radical actions.When Travolta finally figures out what and who destroyed the inner beauty and potential of this young woman his righteous anger is potent and palpable.I heard the story was loosely based on real-life events, but can't verify it.The picture was filmed on location in coastal Georgia, around Savannah. There's also a breathtaking shot of West Point, NY, where a small portion of the story takes place.CONCLUSION: "The General's Daughter" is more than just a meaningless detective mystery/thriller. It's thought-provoking and delivers a powerful message. Some won't get it. Some are unable to get it. Others can't get past the sleazy elements. For the rest of us it's a worthwhile, heavy and potent piece of filmmaking. Travolta is at his charismatic best and Madeleine Stowe is spellbinding. I'd give it a higher rating, but the implausible Hollywoodisms stack-up toward the end and the revelation of the murderer and aftermath is weak.GRADE: B+

lathe-of-heaven Funny, I saw this a number of years ago and although I remember really liking it I did NOT remember how extremely well done it was. I just watched an HD print of the movie and it looked fantastic; I cannot bloody WAIT for it to get a full Blu-ray treatment. The very first thing that really hit me was the look and cinematography. WOW! Beautiful. The shots of his boathouse and the trees, the lighting and the colouring. Just breathtaking...I truly cannot remember the last time where a film was directed this well. The use of soundtrack, editing, timing, bloody EVERYTHING was just off the charts. During some of the more dramatic moments, I was sitting there, totally stunned at the absolutely artful use of editing. The edits in motion between the characters and movements were completely masterful. The director took a film that could have been just a sharp Murder Mystery / Thriller and turned it into this beautiful artwork. WOW, I say again...All performances were great, down to the last person. I truly cannot remember the last time I was this caught up in a film of ANY Genre!It totally mystifies me WHY on earth this film only has a 6.1 rating here on IMDb. For the life of me, I cannot even begin to guess as to how this movie could possibly be improved...