The General's Daughter | | Cast : | John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe | | Director : | Simon West | | Studio : | Paramount Studio | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | June 18, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | August 13, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 26, 2005 | | Summary | Potent dark affair! | Content
 | This film plays hard with the viewer: A rape in the heart of the most famous Military Institution: It's hard to believe Travolta dressed in uniform: he has the baby face syndrome; and that is why he has resulted so effective in comedy, dance and cynicism(Pulp Fiction) , but if you get to surpass that detail. You will be rewarded with a cynical performance of James Cromwell, who is perfect for this role.
Interesting drama that contains the classical ingredients; the undercover, betray, the false solidarities that support the week ego, and the final triumph of the justice.
Madeleine Stowe is very credible in her role: she has presence and personality. It 's a pity she has been considered for other roles; she is much more than A femme fatale, but you know how it works out this difficult activity.
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| Rating | | | Date | February 01, 2005 | | Summary | Divided loyalties for dominant character in murder/mystery | Content
| Risking one's life is part and parcel of being a soldier in any army, yet Paul Brenner's (John Travolta) life is truly on the line at the start of the movie when, masquerading as "Sergeant Frank White", he tackles a gun smuggling run involving both insiders and a rather nasty character who clearly loves the feel of a semi-automatic weapon in his hands. This is, however, just a tangential sub-plot ending in a flurry of fire on and around an old barge at night that culminates in the bad guy, Belling (Peter Weireter), getting his just desserts.
Once that is ended, the movie concentrates on the real story. Captain Elisabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson) is found dead, her naked body tied on the ground to stakes. This "discovery" is somewhat intriguing, considering that the body lies out in the open on a part of an army base in Georgia (USA) used for urban close quarter combat practice and bomb disposal. No attempt was made whatsoever to conceal the woman's corpse, an examination of which seemed to indicate no violation in any sexual way - even more intriguing.
Brenner is irked to find that a "rape counselor" is also on the scene and he tells Colonel Bill Kent (Timothy Hutton) brusquely: "[The body] doesn't need a rape counselor - she's dead!" It turns out that the counselor is fellow U.S. Army warrant officer Sarah Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe), who just happens to be Brenner's former flame, a somewhat predictable "relationship" conforming to a certain Hollywood formula.
Brenner and Sunhill meet the grieving father, none other than the general commanding the base, Major General Joseph Campbell (James Cromwell), who wants justice for his daughter yet, at the same time, it appears that he knows more than he is letting on. His loyal aide, Colonel George Fowler (Clarence Williams III), and the general test Brenner's own loyalty: is he a soldier or a policeman? "I'm a soldier, sir!" says Brenner unhesitatingly, yet almost questioningly.
Brenner and Sunhill's investigation comes up against obstacles and obstructions from all manner of people, even to the point of their being "persuaded" to desist, and it seems clear that the army hierarchy wants a tight lid to be put on the whole affair. Brenner and Sunhill are undeterred despite their experiences, and soon the most likely suspect, Elisabeth's former CO at PsyOps (Psychological Operations), Colonel Robert Moore (James Woods), is thrown into the slammer. An investigator ought normally to display professional and dispassionate behavior when investigating a murder, yet Brenner makes the whole thing personal, given that Elisabeth herself had actually helped "Sergeant White" change a burst tire only a few days before her death. Unfortunately, Brenner makes a procedural blunder that results in another tragic event soon afterwards.
The investigation gathers apace thanks to evidence provided (indirectly) by a psychiatrist, Colonel Slesinger (John Beasley), up at the U.S. Military Academy, where a pivotal event in what would be Elisabeth's short life occurred during a night exercise at the end of her sophomore year there. This one event would lead to the events depicted in the movie and serve to explain the attitudes of her fellow officers, including, as it so happens, her father, who has an ulterior motive for his inaction in spite of telling Brenner that he wants justice for his daughter. It also explains what had been the somewhat unsavory side of her private life, as Brenner and Sunhill accidentally discover in the basement of her off-post accommodation.
Finally, Brenner confronts the culprit, who explains what exactly happened to Elisabeth, before a rather explosive ending involving an anti personnel mine. As in any good detective story, the perpetrator of the death happens to be the person that one least suspects.
Brenner remains true to his profession both as a soldier and as a police officer, and Travolta performs this role with a vigor not normally associated with other roles he has played on screen since the 1970s. Like Sean Connery, John Travolta has taken to performing more "mature" roles on screen, leaving his own "younger" days behind, and he delivers the goods quite well. Madeleine Stowe is a fine actress, yet one can lament the fact that her role of Sunhill was comparatively minor to Travolta's as Brenner, who appears in practically every single scene, thus not giving her a chance to show off her real talents. Better use could also have been made of Daniel van Bargen in his role as Brenner's civilian nemesis, Chief Yardley, as the movie could have done with some more "confrontations" between the two men.
The story itself does have most, if not all, of the elements that go together to make a good murder/mystery: the fact that things are not as how they first appear, misguided loyalty, a cover-up, a focus on the "wrong" suspect, mistakes that results in lives lost, and an unexpected revelation. A nice (or sad) touch at the end of the movie is the gallery of photos related to the past life of actor Leslie Stefanson, including from childhood, to emphasize just how the life of an ambitious army officer was cruelly taken from her when still young.
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| Rating | | | Date | September 15, 2004 | | Summary | Terrible! | Content
| I like John Travolta so when my sister went to the video store and rented a tape of The General's Daughter I watched it with her but I didn't like the movie at all, it was very disappointing and my sister who usually has different tastes in movies then me didn't like it either. The good cast of John Tavolta, Timothy Hutton, James Woods etc were wasted in this movie! Maybe the book is better but after watching this terrible movie I have no desire to read the book. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 31, 2004 | | Summary | ROLL UP YOUR SLEAZE, IT'S A DEEP-FRIED FREUDIAN MELODRAMA | Content
| Not even a fresh-from-Pulp-Fiction Travolta could save this lurid mess. We have known some misses from him (White Man's Burden, Mad City) but what makes General's Daughter particularly embarrassing is that it's studded with cream crowd: Madeleine Stowe, James Woods, Timothy Hutton.
Of whom, only Hutton escapes unscathed. Stowe seems to be at hand merely to, well, be at hand. Woods camps it up as a secretive colonel given to Bette Davis-style gestures with his cigarettes and flagrant flirting with Travolta.
Travolta, for his bit, slogs through the movie with a handful of cocky oneliners that send us the silent message -- "Sure, this is baloney, but guess how much I'm being paid to do it". I tried to care but couldn't.
Three-star material for the recreation of the shocking dualism in the victim's character, but all of it falls flat at the incredible climax in a rainstorm as the murderer is unravelled. Most disappointing. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 09, 2004 | | Summary | POWERFUL AND DISTURBING FILM | Content
| THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER is not a pleasant film, and it doesn't do anything to add to the prestige of the Army. However, Nelson DeMille's novel intricately portrays the fate of one Captain Elizabeth Campbell, whose dark past leads to her murder. Being the titular general's daughter, there is coverups galore to keep the facts from getting out.
Director Simon West keeps everything moving fast and the screenwriters have done an excellent job in making the plot complex, yet practical by the end.
The acting is 4 star for many of its players: John Travolta gives one of his best performances, fake Southern accent and all---he is sturdy, humorous and dead on in this role. Madeleine Stowe adds a lovely counterpoint to Travolta's bravura and brings her certain elegance to the movie; James Woods gives a fine, understated performance as a psychiatrist with his own dark secrets; James Cromwell brings a heinous callousness to his role as the general who places his own agenda ahead of his daughter's well being; Timothy Hutton plays a (...)colonel who has his own secrets; Clarence Williams III gives one of his best performances as the general's aide, whose loyalty precedes the law; and Boyd Kestner is good as an arrogant aide.
Atmospheric and compelling, THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER deserved better reviews; I found it very entertaining. |
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