Buffalo Soldiers
dir. Jordan
Opens Fri Aug 8
Various Theaters
From Dr. Strangelove‘s Cold War wheelies to Heathers‘ bulimic teenage wasteland, the best satire has always worked without a net. Completed just before 9/11 and finally released, much of the taboo status surrounding the matte-black comedy Buffalo Soldiers may have come from unexpected world events, but its combination of jaded cynicism and artful cool would pass muster in any era.
Based on Robert O’Connor’s novel, the film chronicles the rising fall of Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix), a Berlin-based Army file clerk who delights in hocking everything from Mr. Clean to bathtub meth to his numbed compatriots, all directly under the radar of his dunderheaded commander (Ed Harris). Stakes are raised with the simultaneous arrival of some illicit heavy artillery and a granite-nosed new sergeant (Scott Glenn) determined to best Elwood by any means necessary.
Phoenix makes for a fascinating anti-hero, constantly shifting the audience’s desires between watching him continue to sock it to the man, and seeing the little bastard get busted. He’s matched in every sense by Glenn’s ‘Nam-craving lifer, who alternates between “amusingly flinty” to “deeply scary.” Director Gregor Jordan handles the slippery moral slope with aplomb (an early scene with a tank-full of oblivious stoners rumbling through Oktoberfest has the makings of a black comedy classic), losing his groove only slightly during the big exploding lollapalooza of a climax. Soderbergh vet David Holmes’ score provides a trip-hoppy backbeat.
Evoking Catch 22 and Stripes in equal measures, Soldiers may ultimately be a tad too calculated to truly shock, but manages to navigate between bad taste and Sgt. Bilko with skill and infectious glee. It’ll sting going down–but it should.