Films about the Vietnam War have been so numerous that it could almost be considered its own genre. However, most of the films have centered on a specific demographic, that of the White, heterosexual male. Obviously, that demographic represented the majority of the soldiers who were enlisted and who served. Some films have centered on Black or African American soldiers who served. Examples include Richard Pryor in Some Kind of Hero (1982), Forest Whitaker in Jason's Lyric (1994) or Larenz Tate in Dead Presidents (1995).
Recently, a couple of films delved into the issue of the Vietnam War but from the perspective of people retroactively looking at it. Da 5 Bloods (2020) took the perspective of Black soldiers reflecting on their war experience. Monsoon (2020) took the perspective of a gay, Vietnamese man reflecting on the war's effect on his home country. This film takes the perspective of a gay soldier who served but actually immerses us in his experience as the war was happening.
David Garber (SEAL Team) stars as Ian Alexander, a sergeant in the U.S. Army who is currently serving in an infantry in South Vietnam, 1968. It's late January, early February, during what was known as the Tet Offensive. There was a truce or a ceasefire in the country, but that was broken due to the North Vietnamese Army or NVA making attacks. One of those attacks was on a military base called Dong Ha. This film essentially depicts the "Battle of Dong Ha," which is basically a fictionalized version of the attacks in the area of Dong Ha in early 1968.
Much isn't known about Ian. We don't know where he's from. We don't know if he's from the southern United States or maybe the Midwest. We're not sure how old he is. We don't know what his family is like or what made him join the military. All we know is that he wants to make the military his career. His goal is to become an officer by entering the Officer Candidate School or OCS. There's one problem. Everyone tells Ian that OCS don't let queers or gay people be officers.
It's revealed pretty early that Ian is homosexual. There haven't been too many films that have been about gay soldiers. Certainly, there haven't been many that have been about depicting a gay soldier serving in any major conflict of the 20th century, particularly one involving combat. Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters (1998) was about a gay man who served in World War I, but it focused more on him as an old man looking back. It wasn't contemporaneous. Other films like Soldier's Girl (2003) and The Inspection (2022) were about gay men in basic training before going on any kind of tour. This film puts us in the middle of military combat with a gay man as the protagonist.
Michael Southworth co-stars as John Reese, a fellow sergeant in the same unit as Ian. In fact, it's revealed that John is also homosexual. The only other thing known about him is that he's a bit hot tempered. He also doesn't want any one else in the Army knowing that he is gay. Strangely, it's a bit of an open secret that everyone apparently knows but simply doesn't talk about. It's different than the Israeli film, Eytan Fox's Yossi & Jagger (2003). The two men in that film remained closeted and maintaining the secret was paramount for them. Here, the opposite is true.
Not only are Ian and John not trying to maintain their secret, at times they're almost flaunting it. Ian and John try to be discreet and not shove it in the faces of their fellow soldiers, but it gets to a point where they're not hiding their affection for each other while in the presence of the guys in their unit. This is bold for characters in the military in the 1960's, especially pre-Stonewall. Writer-director Richard Gayton is himself a Vietnam veteran and he's probably pulling from real experiences, but it feels more like wishful storytelling, although the film isn't devoid of homophobia.
Vincent van Hinte (The Walking Dead and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) plays John Heinrick, an Army Captain who is assigned to lead a rescue mission in the area. Because Ian and John's unit is close, their unit is paired with Heinrick. If anyone has seen Apocalypse Now (1979), Heinrick definitely gives off Colonel Kurtz vibes. In terms of the narrative that Gayton crafts, Heinrick is more akin to Sgt. Barnes, played by Tom Berenger, in Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986). Heinrick is basically an amoral psycho or he's a soldier who has become that, likely due to the horrors his experienced, or, an inner warped lust for violence.
Heinrick does inject some homophobia in the last act of this film. Other than that, his character doesn't really add to what seems to be the overall theme of the film. His seems to be a stock character that feels placed here because the filmmaker was enamored with films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, and wanted to ape them for whatever thrills could be wrung. The story line involving Heinrick only drags out the film into an unnecessary length.
Given how the film ends, more time would have been appreciated spent on the relationship between Ian and John. As mentioned earlier, we learn nothing about who these men are. We learn nothing about where they're from or how they met or what things they like. In Yossi & Jagger, Fox established more of who the guys were and the relationship between them. Yes, Fox's film had that violent-lusting character, but Fox also gave more intimate moments that revealed more about who the guys were. For example, we learn that the character named "Jagger" has a favorite musician, Rita, and we learn he can play the guitar, as well as his love of singing and dancing. We even meet his parents and see that Jagger liked dressing up in a bunny suit.
Here, we get no details like that for any of the two main men, that of Ian and John. Gayton wants to honor all the gay men who fought and died in the Vietnam War who for the most part did so without any acknowledgement of their real identities. Therefore, Ian and John are meant to represent those many men, but, without providing more intimate or personal details about the characters, it dehumanizes them into nothing more than game pieces or stick figures, generic plot devices with whom it's difficult to fully empathize or understand on any deeper level. Having this film though is very much appreciated on a representation level.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 2 mins.
Available on VOD and digital platforms, including Amazon Prime and Tubi.
