Tigerland (2000) – Nostalgia Central

At Fort Polk, Louisiana, in 1971, American soldiers undergo advanced infantry training at a facility –  they call it ‘Tigerland’ – designed to look, feel, smell and scare like Vietnam.

That’s the setting for this movie by director Joel Schumacher that, unlike the holy trinity of Oscar-type Nam movies – The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Platoon (1986) – steers clear of Southeast Asia altogether.

Like the first half of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), Tigerland focuses on training men to kill right in their own backyard.

Schumacher, the director of two critically reviled Batman epics (he didn’t think much of them either), could have competed with the big boys in the usual ways: fat budget, major stars, lofty literary pedigree.

Instead, he shot Tigerland on a Florida army base for chump change ($10 million), using gritty, handheld 16mm film to give it a raw, documentary-like aesthetic and working with a script by the untried Ross Klavan and Michael McGruther.

Despite melodramatic lapses – the gripping action recalls Walter Hill’s 1981 Southern Comfort – this is Schumacher’s most ambitious film since Falling Down in 1993, and it plays to his strengths with a cast of unknown young actors.

Irish actor Colin Farrell excels in the role of Bozz, the highly intelligent and cynical draftee who aggressively opposes the war and revels in pissing off the brass.

Bozz finds loopholes in Army rules to get Cantwell (Tom Guiry) discharged. He also mouths off to any “backed-up sperm brain” (trainee or officer) who takes the Army seriously.

Jim Paxton (Matthew Davis) – who serves as narrator throughout the film – is a budding writer who chases whores with Bozz on R&R and worries that his desertion-minded friend will be court-martialed.

But the officers think there’s a leader in Bozz. They just need to wait him out.

One gung-ho trainee, Wilson (Shea Whigham) – a viciously unstable, bloodthirsty bully – freaks out when he sees Bozz rise by flouting authority. In the simulated combat of Tigerland, it’s inevitable that someone will use live ammo.

Realising that Paxton is genuinely unsuited for combat and eager to save his friend from the horrors of Vietnam, Bozz deliberately fires a blank round directly next to Paxton’s face. The blast permanently damages Paxton’s eye, resulting in a medical discharge that sends him home.

The film closes with a narration from Paxton, noting that he never saw Bozz again but heard various rumours: some said Bozz died in Vietnam, while others claimed he simply disappeared into the underground.

Tigerland was a commercial failure, grossing less than $150,000 worldwide due to its limited theatrical release.

Critics widely hailed it as a powerful anti-war statement and one of Joel Schumacher’s best films.

Even when the script overtaxes the allegory about how Vietnam divided a nation at home, Schumacher and the actors prevail by fixing their sights on what happens to men on that last stop before the game of war becomes a grim reality.

Colin Farrell received a massive career boost from the film, which helped establish him as a bona fide Hollywood star.

Pvt. Roland Bozz
Colin Farrell
Pvt. Jim Paxton
Matthew Davis
Pvt. Miter
Clifton Collins Jr.
Pvt. Cantwell
Tom Guiry
Pvt. Wilson
Shea Whigham
Pvt. Johnson
Russell Richardson
Capt. Saunders
Nick Searcy
SFC Ezra Landers
Afemo Omilami
Staff Sgt. Thomas
James MacDonald
Sgt. Oakes
Keith Ewell
Sgt. Eveland
Matt Gerald
Sgt. Drake
Stephen Fulton
MP Sergeant
Tyler Cravens
Sheri
Arian Ash
Claudia
Haven Gaston
Sgt. Filmore
Michael Shannon
Bartender
Ronnie Schafer
Bargirl
Frances Taylor
Tigerland CO
Marc Macaulay
Staff Sgt. Cota
Cole Hauser
Sgt. Gordon
Jack Newman
Kearns
Neil Brown
Ryan
Tory Kittles
Dickson
Rhynell Brumfield
Barnes
Chris Huvane
Lukins
Shamari Lewis
Hicks
Dane Northcutt
Drew
Jonathan Hill
McManus
Jeff Hephner

Director
Joel Schumacher