Location: Pittsburgh
“Clouds of Red"
Directed by Terrence Malick
Written by Robert Rodat
Produced by John Daly
Music by Nick Glennie-Smith
Principal Cast:
Christian Bale as Mick Mannock
Gerald Butler as James McCudden
Ewan McGregor as Ross Bisping
Stephen Rea as Major Keith Caldwell
Chace Crawford as Albert Ball
Colin Hanks as Donald Inglis
Luke Goss as Jim Eyles
Powers Boothe as Micks Father
Tagline: "On solid ground, he felt emotion. In the skies, he was God"
Synopsis: War is something to look away from. We remind ourselves of what happened, learning about them in schools, you hear a few names mentioned and you learn about them, however, most of the heroes you never hear of are severely "under the radar". Mick Mannock was, if not the best at combat flying in the first World War. Mannock was untouchable in his death of destruction, but outside the plane Mannock was as human all of us.
Born in 1887 in Aldershot, England, Mannocks life took a road bump when he reached 10 years old he developed amoebic infestation which rendered him temporarily blind. Two years after is when his father abandoned his family. His father was known to be a brutal man and hard drinker. Mannock would remain partially blind in his left eye the rest of his life. By the time he was 20 he had joined the Labour Party. While working as a telephone engineer, he had been captured by the Turks, and had been kept in prison. It was until he was near death where he was released as afterwards he joined
the Royal Flying Corps.
During his time as a flying officer, Mannock developed a brash, cocky attitude towards his work, which enraged his CO Major Keith Caldwell. Caldwell would bring it down hard on Mannock several times, but it never stopped him. He practiced shooting consistently and was soon to get his first kill, as he flew in close to German airplanes. By 1918, Mannock had 23 kills, and his over confident attitude seemed to fade away as he was made to flight commander. He was an excellent motivator to his pilots, James McCudden, Ross Bisping, and Albert Ball. McCudden and Mannock were best friends, Pointon was a bitter rivalry of Mannocks, and Ball was a close friend, however tragically on May 7th Ball had been shot down, and this tore Mick up inside.
Mannock continued to remain a titan in the skies, and although Mick grew a strong hatred for the Germans (as he told McCudden after he questioned Micks brutal behavior towards them, he told him "the swins are better dead, no prisoners", the kills were beginning to get to him. After seeing one of his victims catch fire on the way to the ground, Mick developed a severe fear of catching on fire. Due to this, Mannock always had a revolver in his cockpit, where if his plane had ever caught on fire, he'd finish the job himself as soon as he saw the flames. By 1918 he had 59 kills, and earned a trip home, where he had haunted visions of his childhood, his father more importantly. He also developed an obsession with neatness and order, everything had to be perfect. He came back to the war, only to hear that James McCudden had been killed. Mannock didn't take the news lightly, and he realized that deep down he was falling apart, and he wasn't immortal after all. This was known when Mannock and McCuddens new replacement Donald Inglis went up where they finished off a German plane. On the way back down, Mick started to kick his rudder, as the plane all of a sudden caught fire, Mick used his revolver wisely. Apart from the complete irony of Mannocks death, dying in the skies, having his worst fear come to life, Mannock will always be remembered as one of the greatest war heroes the world will ever see. By the end of his life, Mannock had brought down 74 planes.
What the press would say:
Though few war movies in recent years haven't been strictly for one character, "Clouds of Red" delivers us with a sensational style of something new. We look at a different aspect of
WWI and the man leading the way is Terrence Malick. From The Thin Red Line, to The New World, to Clouds of Red, Malick is selling himself as one of the top directors recently in this particular genre. You'll grow a whole new respect to Malik after this one. The dark atmosphere Malik provides us throughout the film brings those haunting stories you have read, and the old films you and your dad used to watch. The scenes in which Malik blends in some fire effects to provide a more fear for the main character was intentionally done well. The quality of the battle scenes is some of the best work I've ever seen, it's not overpowered with them, but after watching one, you can't wait for the next.
However, that is if you can't get enough of the forceful acting provided by Christian Bale. While in the airplane Bale still shines, it's when you take the immortality away from him, and he shows his true talents portayaling a real person, a real person with emotions that Mannock doesn't want to feel. Bale sells the cold hearted killer act as well as he does with his compassionate, overwhelming acting, much like his character in American Psycho, Bale has to sell two personalities, and that he does. You can say what you want about Gerald Butler, but the guy continues to progress in every film as he takes the role of being Micks personal psychiatrist and best friend, you two have this undeniable chemistry that grabs you by the throat. His death alone brings out one of Bales brighter performances in the film after hearing it.
This two and a half hour masterpiece is well earned the price of admission. A very important film that shows the heroics of some of the warriors that have done battle and that warrior doesn't have to be American, the ones we don't take account of, but also shows the tragic mind set a war can give a person. Mick Mannock was a pure example of this. In perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in the film, we get a slow zoom in shot on Christian Bale Nick Glennie-Smith works his magic, and he quotes a direct saying from Mick Mannock. "The journey to the trenches was rather nauseating - dead men's legs sticking through the sides with puttees and boots still on - bits of bones and skulls with the hair peeling off, and tons of equipment and clothing lying about. This sort of thing, together with the strong graveyard stench and the dead and mangled body of the pilot combined to upset me for a few days."
Possible Nominations:
Best Picture - Terrence Malick, Robert Rodat, and John Daly
Best Director - Terrence Malik
Best Actor in Leading Role - Christian Bale
Best Actor in Supporting Role - Gerald Butler
Best Original Screenplay - Robert Rodat
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Effects
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup
Best Original Score
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