For some reason, after suffering through “The Scarlet Letter” and “Striptease,” I grudgingly decided to give Demi Moore another try. Maybe it was because I thought that she doubtless wouldn’t take her clothes off again, or perhaps that no one can star in a half dozen bad films in a row.
Amazingly enough, it was worth it.
“G.I. Jane” is one of the best films Demi Moore has ever had a thing to do with, and one of the most interesting, and possibly influential, movies of 1997.
Like so many films in the past, “G.I. Jane” opens in a congressional hearing, where Senator DeHaven (Anne Bancroft) is ripping a witness to shreds over the U.S. Navy’s unwilling nature towards admitting women. Then, behind Washington’s famous closed doors, she works out a deal where, if female test cases measure up to male standards, a more long-term promise will be made.
The Navy SEALs have what the movie repeatedly calls the most rigorous training program in the world, so DeHaven tries to find the perfect candidate for the slot. After passing over a couple of bodybuilders, she decides on the brains and brawn of Jordan O’Neil (Demi Moore).
The Navy brass, accepts the deal and the candidate, and no one expects her to last more than a couple weeks of the ten-week program. But, of course, they don’t know our hero.
A very long (and, at times, boring) part of the movie is dedicated to showing us how awful, grueling, and otherwise inhumane the SEAL training program is; the recruits don’t sleep for the first twenty four hours, their commanders kick them when they’re down, and too much else to mention.
The film drags a little through this section; it seems to rain almost all the time, and I don’t think the sun came out until about week five.
All this time, O’Neil keeps up with the men, even to the point of eliminating “gender-norming,” allowing her slightly less demanding standards. After a week, she is sleeping in the same barracks as the men, and using the same facilities, albeit on a rotating schedule.
What amazed me, in such a potentially black-and-white situation, is how no character was allowed to be completely evil or completely good. The men that hazed her either eventually came around or proved too weak to complete the course, Senator DeHaven is as two-faced as any politician on CNN, and even Jordan isn’t unflinchingly goddess-like.
Besides the drudgery of the training, “G.I. Jane” is shot quite effectively. Somehow, director Ridley Scott manages to focus in the right places, so that every once in a while, it’s possible to forget that Jordan is any different from the rest of them. Trusting that, to some extent, the other trainees felt the same way, it was a very effective technique.
Granted, Demi Moore wasn’t forced to carry this film, but by no means did she do the “Striptease” treatment and flatten it. She does quite a credible job, and ought to get a little better choice in roles from now on. And, by the way, besides a quick, plot advancing moment, Demi remains clothed throughout the entire film.
Somehow, “G.I. Jane,” which is a drama, manages to be utterly compelling. Besides a short sequence at the end, there is little suspense besides the question of whether or not Jordan will make it, but never was I the least bit disinterested.
But, above all else, this movie avoided the awful plight of becoming a two-hour long women’s rights platform. Whether the cause is worthy or not, I’d rather go to Hollywood movies for entertainment value. “G.I. Jane” doesn’t preach, but it might be more powerful because it doesn’t.
Grade: B+