Taps 1981

Harri reviewed Taps (1981)

Promising Young Actors Shine in an Exceptional Military Drama

Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn in the same film in 1981 is definitely a must-see. Adding Hutton's Golden Globe nomination, great veteran actors like George C. Scott and knowing that these young actors actually share a lot of scenes together, all of them having quite a lot screen time, one cannot really turn down this gem. Hutton's performance is actually good enough to make one wonder, whether his early Academy Award nomination was only thwarted by it being a phenomenally good year for leading actor roles (Kingsley in Gandhi, Newman in the Verdict and so on).
For Tom's fans, the film should prove no disappointment either. His performance, as most of those of his comrades, is properly filled with juvenile idealism and a sense of military discipline. Hutton, Penn and Cruise all represent different approaches to the drama and their performances respectively illustrate ways of interpreting and coping with mental conflicts in terms of loyalty, honour and reason.

The story is about young cadets' battle against closing down of the Bunker Hill military academy, which most of them regard as their spiritual home. Conjoined with hospitalization of their commander (Scott), an iconic and patriarchal figure, and occasional tension between the military school and the community's pacifist youngsters, the story evolves into the youth's fight and search for honour.

The film's main themes are treated with appropriate attention. Amidst the usual rift between generations, a "token" concept in stories with major youth roles, the idea of returning to an authentic past is also visible, the idealist cadets hoping to restore the pure ideals that they fear are, symbolically, growing old and feeble in modern society.
The aspect of maturation is fortunately downplayed, allowing the film to presents its point maturely.
Though quite unnecessary and even partially disrupting the narrative, the Freudian aspects provide a point of intrigue to Hutton's character and to thematics in general.

All in all, here is an unusually successful portrayal of honour and loyalty with some depth and adequately involving storyline. It may cause an emotional reaction.