I watched this film again yesterday on Blu/ray( great picture quality by the way), not seen it since 1990.Forgot how emo
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Born on the Fourth of July
dazfiddy — 10 years ago(September 27, 2015 06:46 AM)
I watched this film again yesterday on Blu/ray( great picture quality by the way), not seen it since 1990.Forgot how emotional some scenes are. People have commented elsewhere on this message board that this is Tom Cruise's best screen performance to date.I agree.
I must confess , tears did come to my eyes when:- Ron Kovic comes home to Massapequa after he is released from the hospital.He goes to his old bedroom and he is looking at all the mementoes from childhood. His father is watching him, and then breaks down.Very emotional scene.
- Ron visits the Wilson family in Georgia and informs them that he believes that he killed their son in Vietnam. Their reaction and his tearful confession is a body blow.
- The emotional bust up with his family. His clash with his mother, and his tearful cry "who will ever love me"? to his father. His anguish is his acceptance that he will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life, with all the implications of that.
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Beeracuda — 10 years ago(October 12, 2015 04:59 PM)
#3 is always a gut-wrenching scene to me. It's almost like he's completely lost his will to live, and his parents can't give him a single reason to want to live.
As for the visit to the Wilson family - it's also a very sad scene, as I feel really bad for the Wilsons. However, I think it's rather self-centered for Ron to lay that on them, just for the satisfaction of getting it off his chest. Let the Wilsons believe their son died valiantly for his country. Why would you want to take that away from them? (Although I know Ron Kovic never did that in real life, and that scene is completely fictional). -
degree7 — 10 years ago(November 02, 2015 01:12 PM)
I think satisfaction is the wrong word. I doubt Ron telling the truth to them was at all satisfying for him, rather it was incredibly difficult. I think Ron was seeking atonement for what he did, and while the wife was not so forgiving, it seemed like the parents understood and were able to assuage his guilt. Imo, I think knowing the truth is better than living a lie. If my family member was killed by friendly fire and no one told me, I would damn well want to know.
~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here. -
Beeracuda — 10 years ago(November 02, 2015 04:47 PM)
You have a point there. However, if I was in Ron's shoes, I don't think I'd take the chance with the Wilsons. Not everyone would want to hear the truth in that situation. Telling them the truth could make matters much worse for some people. I would just let it lie. It won't bring their son back, and it may just cause them to have to go through another period of grieving.
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degree7 — 10 years ago(November 02, 2015 04:54 PM)
Yeah, it was risky, but I think Ron's motivation in the film was more out of selflessness rather than selfishness. He knew that they could react angrily to the news, and he would be putting himself in an uncomfortable position, but he probably felt they deserved to know the truth of how he died exactly. Maybe there's no right answer to that situation though.
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Jimmycakes — 10 years ago(October 24, 2015 02:42 PM)
#1 when Ron comes home and the family exit the house one by one, they're all trying to put on a brave face and Ron can see through it, he notices they're a bit freaked out, but then his mum comes out who is just happy to see her son no matter what condition he's in and she's genuinely happy to see him again.