MEN OF HONOR
Rated R - Running Time: 2:08 - Released 11/10/00
At the opening of Men Of Honor, we learn that it is based
on the true story of the life of Navy diver Carl Brashear. It
is such an amazing story, it is altogether proper that it be made
into a movie. But as we have learned from films like Patch
Adams, Music From
The Heart, and The Hurricane,
a good story is not all that is needed for a good film. More importantly,
writers are needed who can translate the momentous scope and heroism
of a story like this to the screen in a way that is moving, yet
not emotionally manipulative. This must be tricky, because like
the films mentioned above, Men Of Honor pushes too hard
on the sentimentality button and hamstrings its own effectiveness.
Although Brashear's story is truly incredible in many ways, Scott
Marshall Smith's screenplay, and therefore George Tillman Jr.'s
film, is far too melodramatic for its own good, and its choppy,
episodic structure gives the impression that too much is being
crammed into too little time. Even the talents of award-winning
actors like Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr. cannot save this
film from itself.
Carl Brashear (Gooding) enlisted in the U.S. Navy sometime
during the early 1950s, and was assigned to the USS Hoist,
a ship dedicated to undersea search and rescue operations. Being
a black man, Carl's best assignment on the ship is as a cook.
Also on board is the brash hothead Master Chief Billy Sunday (De
Niro), whose dedication to his job occasionally leads him to the
point of disobeying the orders of his superior, the much younger
Cmdr. Hanks (David Conrad). Sunday's insubordination, and Brashear's
desire to become a Navy diver, cause their paths to be inextricably
intertwined, as Sunday is reassigned to a small diver training
base in New Jersey, where Brashear signs on as the first black
trainee. With the exception of one other sailor named Snowhill
(Michael Rapaport), Brashear is ostracized by the entire company,
including the senile commanding officer, a wizened old sailor
called "Mr. Pappy" (Hal Holbrook), whose living quarters
are atop a tall watchtower in the middle of the base.
During his training, Brashear excels at everything except his
written exams, so he seeks the guidance of a young female law
student named Jo (Aunjanue Ellis), who is also struggling against
the racial barriers of the time. Eventually, against Mr. Pappy's
orders, Sunday must pass Brashear, who begins his active service
as a Navy diver, working toward his eventual goal of becoming
a Master Chief like his unwilling mentor.
We follow Brashear's story through a confusing series of flashbacks
and -forwards, with much of the film being concerned with the
drippy relationship of Carl and Jo, but also with Sunday and his
wife Gwen (Charlize Theron). The portions that deal with the actual
diving are usually gripping and well-paced, but the above-ground
scenes are uniformly overwrought. Sunday goes through so many
states of mind (and consequently, so many changes in rank) that
his existence as a real person is called into question. He seems
almost more like an amalgamation of several people, too many to
inhabit one body. Brashear, meanwhile, is portrayed as a nearly
faultless individual. He is a hero, but a hero without faults
is a comic book character. Moreover, the final court scene with
the too-evil-to-be-real Hanks presiding, is completely over the
top, and its resolution, intended to provoke cheers, will more
likely result in groans and a sickish feeling in the stomach.
While director Tillman gained moderate success with his first major release, 1997's Soul Food, he could still be called a novice, and this is Smith's first screenplay. The lack of experience between the two main creative forces results in an unfortunately sappy telling of a truly amazing story.***