The General's Daughter - Film Review

After seeing some of John Travolta's more recent films, it's hard to imagine a time when he was an acting juggernaut that could carry most of a film on his own. One could potentially say that the 1990s were the last time he was in anything all that great as few can forget kicking off his entrance into the twenty-first century with the widely reviled Battlefield Earth. I'm somewhat morbidly interested in revisiting that disaster just so I can review it, but for now I'll settle with the fonder memories of this instead.

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this on Amazon Video where it is available for rent/purchase, however it is also available on Blu-Ray. It is also available via Showtime to subscribers.

General Information 
The General's Daughter is a mystery thriller that was released on 18 June 1999. It is an adaptation of Nelson DeMille's novel of the same name and was directed by Simon West. It was produced by Mace Neufield and distributed under Paramount Pictures. Carter Burwell provided the scoring for this film while Peter Menzies Jr. provided the cinematography. It made approximately $150 million (worldwide) at the box office, which went against an estimated budget of $95 million. It maintains a 47 Metascore on Metacritic and a sobering 21% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I generally find these reviews to be quite surprising to behold, however it seems that a great deal of the negative criticism stems from the film's subject material. It would appear that the U.S. Army agreed with these criticisms as it wanted nothing to do with it due to how it was portrayed in the story. I find this somewhat ironic, as this movie arguably portrays Army behaviors, mannerisms, and culture in the most realistic way I've ever seen onscreen (whatever consultant they had for this definitely earned their paycheck).

The Story

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Paul Brenner (played by John Travolta) has just finished closing out a case for the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division in Fort MacCallum, GA when he's called in to investigate the brutal murder of Captain Elisabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson). The case is unique in more ways than one as Captain Campbell is the daughter of the famous General Campbell (James Cromwell) and her body was found on the training grounds of the very same military installation that General Campbell happens to be in charge of. Brenner's investigation will take him and his partner, Sara Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe), through some of the darkest parts of the Army's underbelly.

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Sunhill and Brenner will see the worst parts of the Army as they investigate the death of Captain Campbell

Mystery films typically vary in how predictable they are, but I found this one quite pleasant to analyze as the plot proceeds. The pacing is constant and rarely slows down, which works well with the story's self-imposed deadline as Brenner and Sunhill have a limited window to investigate the murder before everything is handed over to the FBI. Additionally, I found the plot to be rather complex without ever coming across as overly convoluted (a fault of many mystery stories), although I will admit that there are one or two investigative breakthroughs the duo stumble across that are a bit too convenient.

Character-wise, I found most of the players involved to be rather genuine with the exception of Sunhill, who has little to do beyond being a soundboard for Brenner. Speaking of the protagonist, Brenner's cockiness reflects that he's genuinely good at his job, but viewers will certainly see that he's far from infallible. The side characters are equally interesting as everyone on Fort MacCallum seems to hold a sickening secret, which makes me yearn for a mystery thriller television show like this crossed with the likes of Twin Peaks.

One pressing matter worth mentioning is that much of this film centers around sexual assault and rape within the U.S. military. This topic has historically been a painful topic to discuss, and I've personally worked with several men and women of uniform who were real-life victims. The film is unflinching in its portrayal of these heinous acts, as well as what remains of how the U.S. Army has frequently failed to properly address the issue. With that said, I would caution those that are understandably squeamish about the depiction of sexual violence in film as this may be a bit too much for them.

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The subject material may be a bit too much for some folks

Special Effects/Atmosphere

I mentioned this in the general section, but it's rare to find a film that genuinely captures how the U.S. Army actually appears and behaves on a cultural level. Anyone who has served in a military branch will likely be able to quickly point out flaws in most films on small details like uniform, conduct, or language, but this film hits nearly every beat to make it feel authentic. It's an impressive feat that extends to the set design as the various parts of the fictional Fort MacCallum reminds me a lot of the real U.S. Army base in Georgia: Fort Stewart.

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Although this film is pretty authentic, Brenner's cover ID is pretty hilarious (see rank)

Another area I absolutely adore in this film is its scoring and soundtrack. I don't recall coming across Carter Burwell's work before, but I genuinely think he at least deserved a nomination from the Academy for his excellent work in this. "She Began To Lie" opens the film with a southern twang and the closing song of "Mighty Good Road" blends well with the workman-like attitude that the U.S. Army is well known for. Beyond those songs, the ambient background music maximizes the emotional weight behind nearly every scene.

The Acting

John Travolta's career spans decades and he's got quite the record of both outstanding and abysmal performances, however I've always found this to be one of my favorite films with him in it. Brenner isn't a particularly deep character, but Travolta emphasizes the swagger and braggadocios attitude of the character that perfectly aligns with what is generally seen in most chief warrant officers. Additionally, his interaction with other characters is fun to see and I don't think I ever got tired of how he'd say "Bill" in this.

Another actor worth mentioning is Clarence Williams III's portrayal of the general's adjutant, Colonel Fowler. Williams delivers an intense performance in every scene he's in that is punctuated with a moment near the end of the film that is truly awesome to behold. We get to see Williams deliver a monologue that is both well-written and powerfully presented and it remains possibly my favorite scene of the film.

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Clarence Williams III does an excellent job in this as the steadfastly loyal Colonel Fowler

A final batch of accolades would be both James Woods' and James Cromwell's performances as Colonel Moore and General Campbell respectively. I could tell Woods had a blast playing the victim's old boss and it was a lot of fun getting to see him banter back and forth with Travolta. Additionally, Cromwell does a hell of a job as a military leader eyeing potentially entering politics while also grieving for the loss of his daughter. 

The Best of the Best: The awesome soundtrack and excellent ambient background music.

The Worst of the Worst: Brenner's cheesy Southern accent.

Calhooey Score: 8/10 - Great

Would I Recommend?

The General's Daughter is a solid murder mystery film with a fairly rare military angle that sets it apart from its countless peers. I would certainly recommend it to those that are into thrillers, but I would caveat that the depiction of sexual assault/rape may be too much for some. There's some quality acting and scoring in this worth checking out, and it's nice to remind ourselves that there was a time where not all of John Travolta's films were unintentional comedies.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• Why did Captain Campbell feel the need to take a military Humvee to a formal dinner? Is her car in the shop? Do vehicles often break down at Fort MacCallum?
• Apparently, Fort MacCallum is not a real place. It wasn't until my most recent viewing of this that I realized the Army base portrayed in this film isn't Fort Stewart.
• I could listen to John Travolta rant about bath beads all day.
  
• I love that Brenner just walks away from the scene of where he brutally killed a man with a boat propeller. Another day in the Army, I guess...
• I remember hearing the phrase "There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way" on more than one occasion when I was in the service. It was always less than ideal and frequently led to me having to do unnecessary toil in the beating sun.
  
• When I first saw this, back in the early 2000s, I completely missed the call-out of "Don't ask, don't tell" that's hinted at between Colonel Moore and Captain Goodson. It makes a lot of sense when you consider that Moore was taken by surprise at Brenner showing up at his home while cooking dinner and yet had a J.A.G. officer arrive so quickly without even making a telephone call.
• I think my favorite part of Colonel Fowler's monologue was that despite being completely loyal to General Campbell, he was totally wrong in his assumption that Campbell had killed his daughter. It's an excellent red herring; however, it's somewhat squandered by having Bill Kent reveal himself as the true killer shortly thereafter.
• I find it interesting that the film closed with comments that General Campbell was actually disgraced by the fallout of the investigation. I would sincerely doubt this would happen in real life.
  

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

(1) The General's Daughter. (n.d.). The General's Daughter film image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144214/.

(2) The General's Daughter. (n.d.). Sunhill and Brenner image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144214/mediaviewer/rm1603445248/.

(3) The General's Daughter. (n.d.). Captain Campbell image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144214/mediaviewer/rm279050241/.

(4) The General's Daughter. (n.d.). Brenner's fake ID card image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144214/mediaviewer/rm2325805057/.

(5) The General's Daughter. (n.d.). Clarence Williams III and John Travolta in The General's Daughter image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144214/mediaviewer/rm1553113600/.