Miracle at St. Anna

Starring: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, Valentina Cervi, Pierfrancesco Favino, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington, D.B. Sweeney
Directed by: Spike Lee
Rating: R
Genre: War, Action, Drama
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: During World War II, four African-American soldiers (Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller) get separated from their unit and find themselves stranded in a small Italian village. They befriend a small Italian boy with seemingly delusional tendencies.

Review:

Tim: I really do believe Spike Lee is a very talented filmmaker. However, it was very hard to like this overindulgent, bloated mistake. I know that Lee was upset with Clint Eastwood over the lack of black soldiers in his WWII movie, Flags of Our Fathers, and this movie was the result. However, I don't think this was a very good move. It almost felt like Lee was trying to prove something to Eastwood, by creating a massive, epic movie where the black soldiers are the good guys, and the white soldiers are either absent or incompetent (although a few good white soldiers are depicted, so Lee himself couldn't be accused of racism). I am fine with Lee making whatever points he wants to make with his movies- I just want them to be entertaining and a good use of my time.

Sadly, that is not true with Miracle at St. Anna. First off, the movie is an absurd 160 minutes. For nearly three hours, we watch a story that is interesting on some level, but not especially entertaining, exciting, or dramatic. Lee seems to get lost in the movie, as the film meanders around and wastes a good 45 minutes on seemingly inconsequential and unimportant plot points. Lee needed to show some restraint and bring this thing in at the two hour mark. There was no need to ramble on and on and on.

The cast is decent, although there are some missteps. I really enjoyed Derek Luke in what I suppose is the lead role. I think he makes a convincing soldier, although I wish he had even more to do. Michael Ealy had a juicy role, and he obviously puts in a great deal of effort. Laz Alonso almost fades into the background against these other actors, but that was one of my favorite parts of the film. He is so incredibly important, but for most the movie, you wouldn't necessarily consider him a "main" character. Finally, that brings me to Omar Benson Miller. I really struggle with him. He was given perhaps the best role of the film, the loveable "chocolate giant" who should have had most of the film's best, most emotional moments. However, he very often ventures into the over-the-top realm. Especially early on in the film, he was so frustratingly annoying that I could barely stand it. His acting was oftentimes weak, and I did not enjoy his performance. He certainly gets better as the movie goes on, but it was hard to forget those early missteps.

Spike Lee also assembled an impressive supporting cast, all of whom are almost completely wasted. John Turturro had no reason to be in this film. His one small scene adds nothing. I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I actually thought he was really, really good in this film- too bad his screen time adds up to almost nothing. By the end of the film, I had completely forgot John Leguizamo was even in it. Why bother, John? Kerry Washington makes a quick, pointless appearance as well. Washington is a very talented actress, yet Lee barely uses her at all. D.B. Sweeney is also barely noticeable. These are all some very good actors, yet their talents are not utilized at all.

I did want to mention Matteo Sciabordi. This young Italian actor played Angelo, and in my opinion, gave the best performance of the film. He was easily the most interesting, complex, entertaining character in the whole movie. I really, really enjoyed his performance. It was haunting and beautiful in many ways. His storyline was my favorite part of the movie, and by far the film's most emotional and powerful. Lee made a lot of mistakes with this film, but Sciabordi remains one of it's greatest strengths.

I appreciate Spike Lee giving us a film about African-American soldiers during World War II. That is a story that should work on film, and we need more movies about those soldiers. We certainly don't want to overlook the contributions they made during the war. However, this was not the right way to go about it. Lee needed to scale this thing back and to focus on telling a powerful story- not trying to make an "epic" WWII film. Just a long run time and a big cast doesn't automatically translate into a great film. Miracle at St. Anna is a different movie, and on some level, I can appreciate Lee's ambition. However, this was a joyless, too-long movie that I simply could not bring myself to like.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Malcolm X, Inside Man, Flags of Our Fathers, Cry Freedom