"The General's Daughter" belongs to what I call the "Steamy Southern" genre. You know the type. Its the kind that takes place in one of the Southeastern states, like Virginia or Mississippi, where the sultry weather causes blood to boil more readily, grudges to be nursed more effectively, and sexual tension to rise to the surface far more quickly. There, dark, dirty secrets are kept, and violent passions churn just beneath the surface of charming facade of the villians. There, deep mysteries await the iron-stomached to plumb their depths.
You get the idea. The plot in a movie like this is arbitrary; it exists to create atmosphere, to show characters playing each other like well-tuned harps while the sweat glistens on their brows. However, little but the plot can separate one of these movies from another, so here goes.
John Travolta plays a CID investigator named Brenner, who has been undercover in a Southern army base (I forget which state) for several weeks. He just has time to wrap up his case when he gets a call to investigate the brutal rape and murder of a female captain at bomb disposal site. She is found staked to the ground, naked, strangled by her own clothing. It is a gruesome display, made more gruesome by the knowledge that she had helped Brenner change a tire the night before. The situation is not helped by the fact that, as the movie's title suggests, the victim was the daughter of the base's general, a highly decorated and respected man with political ambitions. He may or may not be involved in what happened to her.
Brenner has a sharp mind and a healthy disrespect for authority, and he encounters resistance from Commander Moore, played effectively by James Woods, who heads the Psychological Operatations division at the base, and whom mentored the general's daughter. He may or may not have been sleeping with her. Did he kill her? The best scenes in the movie involve watching Travolta and Woods go head to head, playing subtle word games with threatening undertones, while Woods puffs on his cigar in his dimly lit office. Other players in this melodrama include Lt. Fowler, the general's assistant, who has his own reasons to protect him, if needed. And Brenner's friend, an MP played by Timothy Hutton, who helps when he can and shakes his head, apalled at the lengths Brenner will go to. The seedy sheriff and his son lurk about as well. Brenner is joined in the investigation by a warrant office, Sara Sunhill, a rape investigator with whom he has a history and whom still gets under his skin, even after years of separation.
Movies like this depend on acting and skillful direction, and this one is slickly done. I found myself almost drawn into the story...almost. The movie is a little too formula and falls back on what Roger Ebert calls the Law of Economy of Characters. This law states the there are no characters in the movie who aren't absolutely necessary to the plot. Using this law I deducted who the killer was fairly quickly. I hate it when that happens.
See the movie if you like this genre. It has a decent plot and good acting, and the soundtrack is interesting, fitting well with the story. It's not great, but it is a solid example of how the South seems to pull the really good, seemy mysteries into its fold.
You get the idea. The plot in a movie like this is arbitrary; it exists to create atmosphere, to show characters playing each other like well-tuned harps while the sweat glistens on their brows. However, little but the plot can separate one of these movies from another, so here goes.
John Travolta plays a CID investigator named Brenner, who has been undercover in a Southern army base (I forget which state) for several weeks. He just has time to wrap up his case when he gets a call to investigate the brutal rape and murder of a female captain at bomb disposal site. She is found staked to the ground, naked, strangled by her own clothing. It is a gruesome display, made more gruesome by the knowledge that she had helped Brenner change a tire the night before. The situation is not helped by the fact that, as the movie's title suggests, the victim was the daughter of the base's general, a highly decorated and respected man with political ambitions. He may or may not be involved in what happened to her.
Brenner has a sharp mind and a healthy disrespect for authority, and he encounters resistance from Commander Moore, played effectively by James Woods, who heads the Psychological Operatations division at the base, and whom mentored the general's daughter. He may or may not have been sleeping with her. Did he kill her? The best scenes in the movie involve watching Travolta and Woods go head to head, playing subtle word games with threatening undertones, while Woods puffs on his cigar in his dimly lit office. Other players in this melodrama include Lt. Fowler, the general's assistant, who has his own reasons to protect him, if needed. And Brenner's friend, an MP played by Timothy Hutton, who helps when he can and shakes his head, apalled at the lengths Brenner will go to. The seedy sheriff and his son lurk about as well. Brenner is joined in the investigation by a warrant office, Sara Sunhill, a rape investigator with whom he has a history and whom still gets under his skin, even after years of separation.
Movies like this depend on acting and skillful direction, and this one is slickly done. I found myself almost drawn into the story...almost. The movie is a little too formula and falls back on what Roger Ebert calls the Law of Economy of Characters. This law states the there are no characters in the movie who aren't absolutely necessary to the plot. Using this law I deducted who the killer was fairly quickly. I hate it when that happens.
See the movie if you like this genre. It has a decent plot and good acting, and the soundtrack is interesting, fitting well with the story. It's not great, but it is a solid example of how the South seems to pull the really good, seemy mysteries into its fold.