Postman
Sometimes a movie can come out where a major, massive misunderstanding will occur when it comes to that movieās themes and subject matter, regardless of any of the positive qualities that said movie might actually possess. The cause of this misunderstanding can be any number of different factors, but mainly it all comes down to bad luck due to very poor timing. Years later, when peopleās perceptions can be known to change due to several important events having taken place in this world, then maybe it IS possible to take a second look and reevaluate that same film and realize that not only is it a better piece of work than was first surmised, but is actually an outright GREAT film that did NOT deserve any of the negative flak that it caught in the first place. Such an example occurred with the release of this film in 1997, and among the so called āsinsā that it committed included opening directly head to head on Christmas Day against a truly overrated film in James Cameronās Titanic, a project that the Hollywood elite definitely wanted to push upon the public as seemingly the movie to end all movies (which it wasnāt), and then there was the messy little matter of a highly acclaimed Italian film named Il Postino (translated: The Postman) released that same year, whose star had suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after filming which was why both he and the film were being positioned as surefire Oscar bait and then came this film which was the same in name only and thus causing a bit of confusion over which was which that was considered to be borderline sacrilege and disrespectful to the departed actor for whom all the Oscar talk was meant to be a ātributeā to, and finally there was the general feeling in Hollywood that the filmās star, director, and producer Kevin Costner had rode the Hollywood gravy train for a little bit too long (virtually the whole decade), having had free reign to do whatever he wanted in the world of cinema while having been rumored to have pissed off many powerful types for a variety of reasons up to and reportedly including his political views and what was said to be a very big ego on his part setting him up as being a man whose time had come to fall from grace. But then there was a larger, almost unheard of reason in that the American public had weathered the general embarrassment of an aw shucks Bubba hillbilly embarrassment of a President in Bill Clinton (the Lewinsky scandal was in full bloom) while still enjoying a period of prosperity and relative safety from the dangers of abroad, thus creating an overall air of cynicism and pessimism in the national psyche at the time, something that proved to be anathema to a film like this with its optimistic and patriotic naivete, depicting a post apocalyptic world where it is said that through hope and perseverance, both the human race and the American way of life can somehow be preserved. But after the horrors of 9/11 and the various wars, conflict, and bloodshed that followed, this film can now be looked at in a new light by a jarred back to reality American public as being what it is: an action packed, blood soaked spectacle that still manages to give off a vibe of pure positivity that few films of the post apocalyptic subgenre have ever managed to give off, giving Costner the last laugh and bringing a newfound appreciation for its literal filmmaking prowess, no moreso than in the lush, breathtaking scenery and cinematography from its Pacific Northwest locations that at times actually recalls the sweeping scope of John Ford Westerns, all while featuring story ideas which makes todayās audiences nod in agreement unlike back in 1997. Costner is in his full Everyman mode as a nameless drifter moving across the last inhabitable areas of the country, stopping once in a while in various towns (cut off from the rest of the world) to do little performances and readings of Shakespeare in exchange for some food while scavenging around elsewhere (an amazing early scene of him finding some packs of cigarettes and then kicking back to smoke a few shows just how precious the loss of simple pleasures can be) before being captured and āconscriptedā into the so called Holnist Army, named after their late messiah like founder who in reality was just a psychotic, extreme right wing survivalist who had started a militia movement that in turn had set off The Second Civil War that ultimately resulted in the nuclear holocaust that had shut civilization and all of itās technological advances down cold. Their leader is General Bethlehem (Will Patton), a character whose very worth as a main villain has divided movie audiences to this day, but yet it is almost Pattonās own persona as a meek and mild character actor that makes it all work, as Bethlehem is really not at all a highly trained and superlative soldier but by his own admittance a mere copy machine salesman inspired to pick up a rifle and go to violent war against the established government, in turn discovering within himself a fine talent for tactical command and military strategy as well as a ruthless, animal like instinct for killing that makes even his own men afraid of him, but still in the end he is just a copy machine salesman playing soldier complete with his own costume, and THAT contradiction is what makes Patton so effective in the role, hiding his insecurities underneath an unbridled bloodlust and profound passion for the teachings of the long dead madman who inspired him so many years ago to root out those whom he considers weak. Costner manages to escape from these types, but not before knifing a snitchy fellow draftee (Giovanni Ribisi) and leading a particularly hateful captain (James Russo) into the hungry clutches of a lion. Looking to escape the cold, he finds refuge in an old mailtruck next to the corpse of a dead mailman, eventually taking his coat and bag of mail with him, using the scam of being a literal government representive delivering mail to get into a boarded in town (one of the mail recipients is an actual resident) and slowly but surely with his lies about a new President (āRichard Starkeyā which is the real name of Ringo Starr) and a newly reformed government, the cause and the movement itself wind up becoming real, mostly through the efforts of a teenage boy who becomes the second in command (Larenz Tate) and whom ironically shows amazing organizational skills that are second to none to singlehandedly get things up and running, soon drawing the ire of Bethlehem who declares war on these representatives of the āRestored United Statesā. With an epic feel and a near 3 hour running time, this is one of those stories that needs to hook you in within the first hour or you might be out of luck, but if you hang in there, you are guaranteed the emotional payoffs like with the town Sheriff (Daniel Von Bargen) who develops a strong dislike for Costner after correctly surmising that heās just āa drifter who found a bag of mailā until he too sees the hope and optimism for the future (after receiving a letter from his sister) and realizes that itās a cause worth fighting for. Sure, there are some ācornballā elements mixed in with the rest, such as the small town babe (Olivia Williams) who approaches Costner for the purposes of impregnating her so that she and her (impotent from radiation) husband can be parents, along with her being given the worst dialogue in the movie, but then thereās elements like them happening upon one town where The Mayor (Tom Petty) admits that he āused to be famousā before the war and thus implying with both the writing and the acting that it really IS Tom Petty playing himself here, which is just something so damn cool that few other movies can ever match it. As things go on with Bethlehemās thirst for blood growing thicker and Costner preaching values such as nonviolence unless in self defense, it all builds up to an amazing climax with both men leading two full armies against each other, but thanks to the finest logic imaginable (āWouldnāt it be great if wars could just be fought by the assholes who started them?ā) and the fact that Costner as a former member of the Holnists still carries all rights and privileges as such (any member can challenge the leader for control of the army), we do get a big battle scene at the end alright but only between two men who both are admitted frauds but yet have still managed to convince entire legions to rally to their sides, dueling it out with each other one on one while both of their armies look on almost incredulously, and showing once and for all the worth of a story that delivers the goods for its genre in almost every way imaginable but yet still standing apart through delivering its unashamed, non ironic message that a positive and peaceful future is the only one actually worth fighting forā¦
9/10