Almost Perfect

I was once told that the key to a successful marriage is teamwork. Each spouse must work separately towards a common goal. I believe that theory carries over into film. Each element of the movie must perform a separate task, each working towards a common goal. There wouldn't be any one element that serves to control the story. Take films with fancy special effects. I suspect that in many of them there is little or no storyline, and the actors are usually deficient in their craft. What I'm driving at here is that each element serves to protect the integrity of the film. The entire point is to not notice obvious character flaws, but to accept them as part of the background. In other words, you don't notice the flaws. What you notice is the end result, which is a good story. I have found such a film, an organic film.

This brings us to the point. I believe that in as much as I usually am very optimistic about films, all to often I give them too much credit. The truth of it is that many of the films I see have flaws, but I'm willing to set them aside for the duration of the film. I go to enjoy a story, not to criticize. However with this film, the Tuskegee Airmen, I did not have to do that. This film is organic all on its own. I didn't have to put my theatrical conventions in force to make up for inherent flaws, simply because there is none. Don't get me wrong here, I'm sure that there were flaws in the historical perceptions. Really wouldn't know because all I knew of the group of pilots was how to pronounce "Tuskegee". As an objective audience member I can say with confidence that the film is nearly perfect.

This film includes an incredible cast. Each brings to the film a unique quality that only serves to bring integrity to the story. Such names as Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and John Lithgow appear in the cast list. Following the organic theory, the cast must follow the same guidelines. Each part serves a specific purpose. The actor assigned to a specific part must perform to the best of his or her abilities within the confines of the role. When each actor does that, you get a seamless effect that serves to successfully bring the story at hand to light. I didn't come away from this film thinking that any one in particular ruined it for me. In fact, I wasn't really thinking of their acting at all. I was only thinking of the story. Well, that's not totally true. When I saw Warner, I pronounced to the rest of the room, "Hey, that's that guy from The Cosby Show!" Aside from that one minor detail, I for the most part thought only of the story at hand...and it is such a beautiful story.

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