A made for television movie that's well worth seeing. The trial takes up most of the screen time and for the most part is fairly accurate. It's apparent, to me, a feeble attempt was made to make Lt. Calley an average young man who believed he was just following orders.
The scenes outside of the courtroom (only a few) didn't work for me. I didn't find any of them even remotely believable.
If this was an attempt by Kramer to show Calley as a mere scapegoat, I think he failed. Only those wanting to see Calley as a victim and capable of ignoring all the facts of the case will see it that way.
I did find the trial engrossing. The acting: fair at best. Harrison Ford crying on the witness stand may win the acting honors. The worst was the sadness shown by all the characters as the death of one American soldier is described. (No remorse shown for the testimony about a child picked up by the arm, tossed into a ditch filled with dead bodies and shot by Kramer's victim.) Netflix has this movie. Watch it now and than you can compare it to Oliver Stone's Pinkville coming out in 2008 or 2009.
The scenes outside of the courtroom (only a few) didn't work for me. I didn't find any of them even remotely believable.
If this was an attempt by Kramer to show Calley as a mere scapegoat, I think he failed. Only those wanting to see Calley as a victim and capable of ignoring all the facts of the case will see it that way.
I did find the trial engrossing. The acting: fair at best. Harrison Ford crying on the witness stand may win the acting honors. The worst was the sadness shown by all the characters as the death of one American soldier is described. (No remorse shown for the testimony about a child picked up by the arm, tossed into a ditch filled with dead bodies and shot by Kramer's victim.) Netflix has this movie. Watch it now and than you can compare it to Oliver Stone's Pinkville coming out in 2008 or 2009.