This is probably the best performance that I've seen Dennis Weaver give in a TV movie, even better than the same year's "Duel", a Steven Spielberg classic that is still talked about. That in fact is not really a performance, because he silent most of the time, and he is simply reacting to the truck driver, not really given any opportunity to deal with anybody else. Here, he's a POW who has returned to his hometown, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and deals with ex-wife Lois Nettleton and a daughter he hasn't seen in years while having visions of his time in a prisoner-of-war camp. His actions become more bizarre, and you begin to wonder if he is in fact still over in Vietnam and only having visions of the people from his past.
A great example of an anti-war film, this is up there with the same year's theatrical release "Johnny Got His Gun" which has an entirely different story but makes many of the same points about how war is more than just brutal. It can lead someone into a psychological hell where death is a welcome door. Weaver shows many different emotions here and the confusion that erupts when he begins to see the faces of the Vietnamese officers who were cruel to him while actually dealing with people from his hometown makes you wonder if it is actually in reverse. That makes this a very intelligent and well written and extremely well directed movie with Weaver truly gripping. The ending doesn't really answer that question of what the reality is, but will certainly make the viewer think about what they just witnessed.
A great example of an anti-war film, this is up there with the same year's theatrical release "Johnny Got His Gun" which has an entirely different story but makes many of the same points about how war is more than just brutal. It can lead someone into a psychological hell where death is a welcome door. Weaver shows many different emotions here and the confusion that erupts when he begins to see the faces of the Vietnamese officers who were cruel to him while actually dealing with people from his hometown makes you wonder if it is actually in reverse. That makes this a very intelligent and well written and extremely well directed movie with Weaver truly gripping. The ending doesn't really answer that question of what the reality is, but will certainly make the viewer think about what they just witnessed.