Director Hal Ashby's amazing sense of time and place puts us right on the homefront of war, and "Coming Home" is arguably the best movie about war since "From Here To Eternity". When Jane Fonda, newly conscious of the problems facing the wounded men returning from Vietnam to the States, tries involving her women's club in a story about the soldiers and the ladies rebuff her, she doesn't bellow or preach--she does what we all would do, she gets mad and cusses 'em out. Her (extra-marital) relationship with paraplegic Jon Voight steers the movie's narrative away from the horrors of the era in the film's second-half (perhaps unintentionally, Ashby softens the scenario, making these lovers guiltless and a bit saintly). However, the Oscar-winning performances by both actors is admirable, and I loved it when Voight asks Fonda if she'll always be his friend (and makes her repeat it just to be sure). Ashby doesn't treat Vietnam trivially, although the war nearly becomes the backdrop to this affair. Still, these central characters are compelling and emotions run high. Penelope Milford's cynical working-girl is also wonderfully realized, but too-intense Bruce Dern is one-note as Fonda's husband (we don't see the arc of his character, and Dern gives us no variations). An evocative piece with terrific cinematography by Haskell Wexler and a fabulous '60s soundtrack. ***1/2 out of ****
Review of Coming Home
