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Bruce Willis stars as Colonel William McNamara in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' suspense drama "Hart's War."

World War II drama holds audiences in suspense
by Jeannie Aquino
UHCLIDIAN Staff

If you are looking for a war story with the elements of survival, mystery, surprise and drama all rolled into one, check out "Hart's War." You will not be disappointed.

Written by John Katzenbach and based on the experiences of his father, former U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, a World War II POW, this movie is thick with honor, courage and duty. The cast of complex characters is loaded with enough surprises that you will find it hard to predict their actions.

"Hart's War" is the story of Lt. Thomas Hart (Collin Farrell) a U.S. senator's pampered son, who is stationed at U.S. Army headquarters in Belgium. Unexpectedly ambushed and captured by German soldiers, Hart is interrogated and sent to Stalag 6. Suspecting Hart cracked under Nazi interrogation and is no longer trustworthy, Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) sends Hart to bunk with the enlisted men instead of the officers. The arrival in camp of two black officers, whom McNamara also sends to live in the enlisted barracks, sets the stage for additional conflict as they become the target of racial animosity from the members of their barracks. After black officer Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrance Howard) is found standing over a dead white enlisted man, McNamara persuades the commandant that a court-marshal is the morally correct way to convict the man before execution. Hart is assigned as defense counsel in a courtroom drama, which has surprises and eventually unravels McNamara's hidden agenda.

Perhaps inappropriately named "Hart's War," instead of "Hart's Wars," the viewer cannot miss the many struggles Hart faces during the movie. There is the war he has within himself to become an individual; the war he fights within himself of right versus wrong; and the war he battles as he challenges McNamara and the bigotry in the camp. Throughout his performance, Farrell's ability to relate the tension within his character does not leap from the screen, but slowly sinks into the viewer's consciousness.

While the movie blatantly over emphasizes the racial tensions between black and white American soldiers for the purposes of the story, Howard's performance brings the struggles that African-Americans encountered during the war home. The emotion that he displays on screen cuts into the viewer's consciousness as a reminder of the injustices that once plagued our country.

Overall, the cast does an excellent job of pulling the audience into the struggles between the characters. Willis, who is a supporting character, sometimes steals the show as a military man who refuses to be left out of the war, no matter the cost. Romanian actor Marcel Iures is superb as Commandant Visser and beautifully engages the viewers in a game of cat and mouse. His performance entices the viewers to try to calculate his next move.

While "Hart's War" is not as awe-inspiring as "Pearl Harbor," it does tell a part of history that is reminiscent of its movie predecessor "Stalag 17." Although poorly timed attempts at levity sometimes interfere with the story, the movie will hold the attention of the audience until the end.

"Hart's War" is rated R for violence and language.