Demi Moore Compelling In ‘Jane’
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 she wouldn’t take her clothes off, or perhaps because 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 Moore has had anything 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 toward admitting women.
Then, behind Washington’s 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 (Moore).
The Navy brass accepts the deal and the candidate, and no one expects her to last more than a couple of weeks in the 10-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 24 hours, and their commanders kick them when they’re down, for starters.
The film drags a little through this section. All this time, O’Neil keeps up with the men, even to the point of eliminating “gender-norming,” which would give 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 who 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 goddesslike.
Besides showing the drudgery of the training, “G.I. Jane” is shot quite effectively. Director Ridley Scott manages to focus in the right places so that every so often it’s possible to forget that Jordan is different from the rest of the recruits. Trusting that, to some extent, the other trainees felt the same way, it was a very effective technique.
Granted, Moore wasn’t forced to carry this film, but by no means did she do the “Striptease” treatment and flatten it. She does 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, Moore remains clothed throughout the entire film.
“G.I. Jane” manages to be compelling. Besides a short sequence at the end, there is little suspense other than the question of whether Jordan will make it, but I was never a bit disinterested.
Above all else, this movie avoided the awful plight of becoming a two-hourlong women’s rights platform. I go to Hollywood movies for their entertainment value, not their political stance.
“G.I. Jane” doesn’t preach, but it might be more powerful because it doesn’t.
Grade: B+
xxxx “G.I. Jane” Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Daniel Von Bargen, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Gage Running time: 1:52 Rating: R