I know that "Coming Home" won several Oscars and is considered a classic, but I have one major gripe with this film. While I liked the film overall, I truly hated the film's soundtrack. Instead of incidental music, the film is FILLED with nothing but late 60s rock and roll in scene after scene after scene. This sort of thing started in the 1970s and a ton of films were just jam-packed full of pop or rock songs. But, it's very distracting to me--and I hate that there aren't enough quiet moments in the film and it feels, at times, like I'm watching MTV and not a serious drama. And, compared to other films that shove song after song into them (like "American Graffiti"), "Coming Home" is much, much more invasive in its use of music. The bottom line is that I HATED the soundtrack!
The film is about a woman (Jane Fonda) who is home waiting for her husband (Bruce Dern) to return from his tour of duty in Vietnam. To fill her time, she volunteers to work with disabled men at the local VA hospital. Soon, she develops a relationship with a bitter paraplegic (Jon Voight). Over time, he lets go of much of his anger and he and Fonda have an affair. The impact of this on their marriage and Voight's subsequent anti-war crusade make up much of the rest of the film.
The acting was pretty good--particularly Voight. As for Fonda, I thought she was just okay and wonder if her receiving the Oscar (along with Voight) was more of an anti-war statement or a show of support for her behaviors during the war. Or, possibly it was just a slow year. All I know is that I expected something more for a prize-winning performance. As for the story, it's very much anti-war--and emphasizes the emotional and physical toll on the men who fight. This is something applicable to all wars--not just Vietnam. This universality is heightened by having no footage of the war. Without the terrible music, I'd give this one a 9--with it, 7. Yes, the music was THAT annoying.
By the way, this is a very adult film. It contains nudity and lots of harsh language. So, this is probably not a film to show your mother-in-law or a pre-school class.
The film is about a woman (Jane Fonda) who is home waiting for her husband (Bruce Dern) to return from his tour of duty in Vietnam. To fill her time, she volunteers to work with disabled men at the local VA hospital. Soon, she develops a relationship with a bitter paraplegic (Jon Voight). Over time, he lets go of much of his anger and he and Fonda have an affair. The impact of this on their marriage and Voight's subsequent anti-war crusade make up much of the rest of the film.
The acting was pretty good--particularly Voight. As for Fonda, I thought she was just okay and wonder if her receiving the Oscar (along with Voight) was more of an anti-war statement or a show of support for her behaviors during the war. Or, possibly it was just a slow year. All I know is that I expected something more for a prize-winning performance. As for the story, it's very much anti-war--and emphasizes the emotional and physical toll on the men who fight. This is something applicable to all wars--not just Vietnam. This universality is heightened by having no footage of the war. Without the terrible music, I'd give this one a 9--with it, 7. Yes, the music was THAT annoying.
By the way, this is a very adult film. It contains nudity and lots of harsh language. So, this is probably not a film to show your mother-in-law or a pre-school class.