GOOD KILL
Director : Andrew Niccol
Cast : Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood, Jake Abel, Peter Coyote, Alma Sisneros, Alma Sisneros
Genre : Drama/Thriller
Run Time : 102 mins
Opens : 28 May 2015
Rating : NC-16 (Coarse Language and Sexual Scenes)
“The war machine keeps turning” – so sang Black Sabbath
in their antiwar anthem “War Pigs”. In the 21st century, the war
machine has evolved and the last several years have seen an increase in the use
of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in warzones. Major Thomas Egan (Hawke) is a
U.S. Air Force pilot who has been flying UAVs since the demand for manned
fighter jets has decreased. It seems like a cushy job, flying the drones via
remote control from a base in Las Vegas, far from the thick of it. However,
Egan has become disillusioned and longs to be back in the air for real. His
work takes a toll on his relationship with his wife Molly (Jones) and when his
new co-pilot Vera Suarez (Kravitz) realises the job involves more than she’s
bargained for, Egan begins to question the nature of his missions. When the
unit is ordered to run ethically dubious missions for the CIA, even Colonel
Jack Johns (Greenwood), whom Egan and Suarez answer to, has second thoughts of
his own.
The
relationship between Hollywood and the military is a fascinating one. Hollywood
is perceived as being run by liberals, but maintaining ties with the military
and portraying them in a positive light is key to getting permits and
clearances for filming on military installations or gaining privileged access
to equipment and personnel. There was even a recent superhero movie that ran
army recruitment ads in the theatre before the feature. Good Kill is written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who helmed the
underrated, searing arms dealer drama Lord
of War. Niccol’s best works, like Lord
of War and sci-fi flick Gattaca,
examine relevant sociopolitical issues in addition to being stylish and
entertaining. Drone warfare is as topical as it gets – the collateral damage
resulting from a covert drone strike was recently a major plot point in the
fourth season of TV series Homeland. Good Kill spells out its themes in the
biggest, blockiest letters available. Watching drone pilots cooped up in a small
box flying missions from thousands of miles away does sound somewhat boring,
and perhaps this lack of subtlety is compensation for it.
Niccol takes particular relish in
juxtaposing the shiny decadence of the Las Vegas Strip with the life-and-death
stakes of the Air Force drone missions being controlled just a few miles out
from the casinos and strip clubs, the partygoers oblivious to the war on terror
being waged from next door. He has succeeded in creating a war movie unlike any
before it, presenting post-traumatic stress disorder and the questioning of
authority in a new look but with the same queasy flavour. The disconnect is a
big part of it - the targets on the ground are mostly faceless, but so is the
ominous voice of Langley, Viriginia over the speakerphone, the CIA portrayed as
a shadowy éminence grise. Colonel
Jack Johns, played by Bruce Greenwood, gives a big bravura speech to a gaggle
of recruits that is gloriously on the nose but yet not out of place in the
context of the film. With lines like “this aircraft isn’t the future of war.
This is the here and f***ing now” and “war is now a first-person shooter”, the
audience is brought up to speed with the changing landscape of combat in
layman’s terms, and there’s also the sense that the Colonel is desperately
trying to convince himself.
Ethan Hawke is on a roll following
his Oscar nomination for Boyhood, Good Kill reuniting him with Niccol, who
directed the actor in Gattaca and Lord of War. Hawke has the unique
challenge of playing a shell-shocked soldier who never steps foot into the
battlefield and the film is carried by the tormented humanity he imbues the
character with. Bruce Greenwood brings his trademark blend of paternal warmth
and no-nonsense grit to the role of Colonel Johns, who despite moments like the
abovementioned speech, is never a stereotypically over-the-top hard-ass. Unfortunately,
January Jones’ character Molly is every bit the stock type of the nagging wife
who doesn’t understand the psychological torment her husband suffers as a
result of his occupation, even with the requisite scenes that are meant to make
her sympathetic. Zoë Kravitz’s Vera Suarez is an archetype as well, the recruit
who has her idealism broken down piece by piece. She handles the emotional
beats well and is excellent opposite Hawke.
Good
Kill has a lot to say and it does seem like Niccol has taken the effort in
understanding the various sides of the drone warfare argument. However, it
doesn’t quite need 104 minutes to say what it does and while it is bereft of the
raw bombast of most war films, it is still painted in very broad strokes. Even
with these shortcomings, the film still is adequately unsettling, tense and
moving.
Summary:
A different breed of war film, Good Kill
can get heavy-handed and repetitive in its exploration of the moral
implications of drone warfare, but still has its powerful moments and is
anchored by a superb leading performance from Ethan Hawke.
RATING: 3
out of 5 Stars
Jedd
Jong
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