The Great Santini

More common than not, even though it looks rather mean in these "politically correct" times, this is the way many families were back in the 50s.

The racial conflicts shown were very realistic and I'm sad to say did happen in the southern state in which I grew up. This movie does a good job of showing how the head of a family, the Dad, was "expected" to act.

Even though we are lead to believe he was a monster, we never found out that his son grew up to be a doctor of highest esteem.

This movie is excellent for its first half: crisply delivered, well-developed, it takes chances that you don't see in films made today. Characters like Bull Meechum are usually, in contemporary films, greatly exaggerated or treated with utter contempt (the military dad in American Beauty as a typical example). This film delivers all the way through the basketball game episode.

Then it starts to fall apart. The episode with Toomer and Red seems like a mighty big price to pay just to show Bull's lack of sensitivity and empathy, or anything else it intends to show. Not too long after, Bull himself gets yanked right out of the movie. I really would have appreciated seeing all of these interesting characters resolve their differences - or see things come to a head. I just felt that the movie just quit with 30 minutes to go.

The music was also kind of hit and miss in the last half. For example, when Ben confesses that he prayed for his father's death, the music is inappropriately creepy. It resolves into sorrow, but the net result was kind of off-putting.

Robert Duvall is magnificent as a classic warrior without a war who moves his family from town to town. Blythe Danner is an excellent match as his wife. And Michael O'Keefe deserves all the kudos he received plus more as Duvall's put-upon son. Lisa Jane Persky strikes a nice balance as the sarcastic-yet-still-loving daughter. Stan Shaw, Paul Mantee, Paul Gleason, and David Keith are flawless in edgy supporting performances. There's perhaps one scene that's slightly overdone which causes me to give it a 9/10 rather than a 10. Otherwise, The Great Santini is an utterly riveting family portrait from start to finish.

I've seen Robert Duvall in other movies. He is a quiet, wise, somewhat reverent man. Being a fan of his, I caught "The Great Santini" on TV. And I gotta tell you, his performance as Bull Meechum just blew the hell out of me! I never knew he could play a role as fierce, violent, and powerful as Bull Meechum! Although it's a film with little attention, it's Robert Duvall best film! It's his best performance. The conflict between the father and the son is strong enough to wildly shake our emotions! Duvall was nominated for Best Actor, and he should've won! It's a must see! I tried purchasing it, but since it's not in high demand, the store didn't have it. It's worth owning, and it's definitely worth watching! Put it on your list of films to see next!

"The Great Santini" is a powerful, gut-wrenching film that manages to tell the tale of a powerful, abusive, often unlikeable hero named Bull Meecham (Duvall). . . and yet you care about what happens to Bull Meecham just the same. Meecham, a legendary pilot and naval hero, is at his best when faced with death -- but at his worst when faced with peacetime, and with his wife and children. Meecham is actually both sad and scary when left alone with his family; he's an abusive terror, almost trying to start a full-scale war in his own home just so he can feel, well, normal.

Duvall is nothing short of brilliant in this movie -- he was nominated for an Oscar, and, in my opinion, he should've won it hands down. Also amazing is Blythe Danner as Lillian, his put-upon wife. An amazing character study that isn't always fun -- in fact, sometimes it's downright harrowing -- but definitely a great story with some incredibly moving performances. A-