The Deer Hunter

[Jan Klimkowski]

Oddly enough I thought Stone's ending to Platoon was right on the money with Charlie Sheen saying aloud his thoughts he was penning to his Grandmother that "sometimes I thought we were fighting ourselves".

Viewed through the lense of a Jungian shadow journey this would be an accurate statement.

Sadly, however, Uncle and all those who sailed upon her had not the slightest interest in Shadow journeys.

Stone, as a former LARP in Vietnam undoubtedly had, however.

Here's a rough transcript of Charlie Sheen's voiceover at the end of Platoon:

I think now, looking back,
we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves,
and the enemy... was in us.
The war is over for me now,
but it will always be there, for the rest of my days,
as I'm sure Elias will be,
fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul.
There are times since...
I've felt like the child born of those two fathers.
But be that as it may, those of us who did make it...
have an obligation to build again,
to teach to others what we know,
and to try with what's left of our lives...
to find a goodness, and meaning, to this life.

David - the words themselves are fine for the reasons you articulate.

However, aesthetically, at the end of what is - in parts - a fine movie, I always find myself cringing, impelled to throw hard objects at the TV screen.

Charlie Sheen, as an actor and a person, does not possess the gravitas to deliver such words. Willem Dafoe might just have got away with it - but, for me, Sheen Jr cannot.

And artistically, it doesn't need saying. Yes, the words do articulate the narrative journey of the film, but it's so cloying. It's as if Stone is speaking.... very.... slowly..... to.... a.... very.... stupid.... child...

For me, the ending of Platoon is a patronizing lecture, whereas the climax of The Deer Hunter is art, with all its ambiguities and nuances.