Friday, June 13, 2008

Battle Cries

Author(s): Pat
Location: New York

“Battle Cries"

Directed By Mike Nichols
Written By Stuart Beattie
Music By James Horner
Cinematography By Dion Beebe
Produced By Mike Nichols, Michael Mann, Clint Eastwood

Principal Cast:

Matt Dillon (Jeff Watkins)
Clive Owen (Martin Fullerton)
Naomi Watts (Marie Watkins)
Michelle Pfieffer (Kim Fullerton)
Joaquin Phoenix (Sam Seaward)
James Woods (Mitchell Gundries)
Frances McDormand (Kathy Nuttall)
Anthony Anderson (Evan Jumper)
Kimberly Elise (Rhonnie Jumper)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: Mike Nichols directs this new dark romance about two Army officers who are brought together by the war in Iraq and torn apart when infidelities and jealousy lead to disaster. Jeff (Matt Dillon) has just married Marie (Naomi Watts) and has learned that he will be shipped off to Iraq in a few months after a three-week stint in Germany. At Ramstein Air Force Base, Jeff meets Martin (Clive Owen), a superior officer with an angry disposition who is married to Head Surgeon Kim (Michelle Pfieffer). As time passes in Germany, Jeff falls for Kim when he works at the hospital and enters into a torrid affair with her while Marie is left home alone wondering where her husband is. Martin begins to suspect that his wife is cheating on him and decides to spy on Jeff’s residence. Martin gets a quick glance at Marie on his first stakeout and immediately falls for her. Marie, having her own suspicions about Jeff, decides to give Martin a try and begins an affair with him.

After three weeks, both Jeff and Martin are sent to Iraq in the same unit. They both know what the other has been doing with the wives and create an uneasy aura about them. After nearly a month in Iraq, Martin receives a letter from his wife saying that she is going to leave him for Jeff. The incidents that transpire from that letter lead to a deadly struggle between two men in love each other’s wives in the midst of a major battle in the southern part of the country.

Joaquin Phoenix plays an ambitious West Point graduate who tries to become the mediator of the situation. James Woods stars as the leader of the Iraq group who threatens to have the two arrested when their personal war starts inflicting casualties. Frances McDormand plays a friend of Kim’s and Anthony Anderson and Kimberly Elise are husband and wife friends of Jeff and Marie.

What the press would say:

Mike Nichols directs Stuart Beattie’s new script, “Battle Cries”, about two military couples who are brought together by infidelity and torn apart by jealousy. Matt Dillon and Clive Owen star as two married officers on a military base who begin to cheat on each other’s wives (Naomi Watts, Michelle Pfieffer). They both discover the infidelities just before the duo is shipped off to Iraq in the same group. Their feud begins to endanger the rest of the task force and leads to shocking events. Both Dillon and Owen command the screen in every frame while the former becomes a tortured avenger who tries to keep his anger within him as the latter’s anger increases as the minutes pass by. Naomi Watts is very good as the naïve wife of Dillon’s character and is oblivious to the situation that she fueled once she learns that her husband has been cheating on her. Michelle Pfieffer deserves best-in-show accolades for playing Owen’s quiet but stern housewife who is sick of her husband’s constant anger fits. All in all, “Battle Cries” is a fantastic movie about the battlefield that is love.

Awards

Best Picture
Best Director-Mike Nichols
Best Original Screenplay-Stuart Beattie
Best Actor-Matt Dillon
Best Supporting Actor-Clive Owen
Best Supporting Actress-Michelle Pfieffer
Best Supporting Actress-Naomi Watts
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Sound
Best Sound Editing
Best Original Score

No comments: