Rolling Thunder

Starring: William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best, Dabney Coleman, Lisa Blake Richards

Synopsis:

Major Charles Rane (Devane) is finally released from a Vietnamese POW camp after 7 years incarceration and brutal torture, along with a couple of other soldiers, including Sergeant Johnny Vohden (Jones). Returning to a wife who has given him up for dead and a son who can’t even remember him, it is very apparent that there is a part of Rane missing. A local department store gives him a televised welcome during which he is awarded a box of silver dollars – one for every day of his capture.

A gang of red-necks invade his house and torture Rane to make him hand over the dollars. When they get what they want, they kill his family and shoot him, leaving him for dead. But Rane survives, and when fit enough he heads down to Mexico and with the help of Vohden, tracks them down to exact his vengeance.

Rolling Thunder has been enjoying a revered cult status ever since Quentin Tarantino used it’s name in his short lived video label, Rolling Thunder Pictures, and by the fact that it has until now been hard to obtain on dvd. Like many people, I am discovering this film for the first time. And boy, what a discovery: Rolling Thunder is an immensely satisfying thriller.

Opening with a sappy Country song called San Antone by Denny White, we watch as a small private jet arrives carrying the POWs. While Vohden is nervous, Rane seems calm behind his aviator sunglasses. He even gives a small speech, thanking the crowds who have come to meet them.

His welcome is unfortunately short lived though, and the hard truth of being away from his home and family for so long soon hits home – his wife has moved on, finding a new man to fill her bed and act as father figure for their son. His wife Janet pours out her heart to him. She doesn’t so much as apologise but it almost sounds like a confession at church. Rane takes it all in until he can’t hear anymore, but assures her that it’s alright and that he wants things to work out for the best.

In some ways, you have to wonder if it’s something of a relief for Rane. As we soon discover, his time in Vietnam hasn’t been a holiday. He was brutalised on a daily basis, and although he never succumbed to the torture he had to trade in his emotional core for survival. He tries to articulate it to his lover Linda later in the film, that they took his soul. With his wife planning to divorce him, it means he doesn’t have to try to reconnect to her as much, to be the person he was 7 years previously. The only thing that he is really concerned with is reconnecting with his son, as he makes clear to Cliff, the deputy sheriff whose taken his place.

“Why didn’t you just tell them where the money is!” his wife implores after she and their son return from shopping to discover Rane beaten and tortured by bandits after the silver dollars. The point is, Rane doesn’t know how to submit. He has resisted torture for 7 years, endured beatings and worse. It is impossible for him to switch off. We had already seen black and white flashbacks to Rane’s incarceration. The home-invasion scene and Rane’s brutal attack by the bandits is intercut with scenes of Rane’s torture in Vietnam, juxtaposing his state of mind in both confrontations.

When Rane awakes, he’s lost his hand (destroyed in the kitchen garbage disposal) and slowly recovers from his injuries. He learns to use his hook-hand, practising by picking up cigarettes and placing them back in the packet one at a time – a trick he uses later to reload his revolver.

Everything so far has been nothing less than riveting, and a concise expose on the mental state of POWs and how they were marginalised when they returned. The film’s title refers to the US Military’s sustained bombing campaign of Northern Vietnam, which went on for years.

The film comes alive, however, once Rane and Linda head towards the Mexican border. Rane realises that, with his hook-hand, he’s going to be rather conspicuous, so he uses Linda (without telling her) as bait, sending her in to ask about Fat Ed in a bar. It’s the same trick used at the beginning of Desperado. When things start looking bad, Rane steps in, and Devane is filmed to look like a real badass.

After a couple of confrontations, Rane seeks out Vohden. In the scenes we’ve seen him previously, Vohden is quite quiet and introverted. When Rane appears and meets his family for dinner, Vohden can’t keep his eyes off him, like he’s waiting for something to happen. When Rane tells him that he’s found the people who killed his son (he neglects to mention his wife), Vohden’s response is to just load up a few weapons, change into his army uniform and follow him out the door.

This is one of those rare films where the villains are cardboard cut-outs and the hero is the deeply nuanced character. The film is much more concerned with the damaged psyche of Rane, what the Vietnam war did to him and thousands of other soldiers, and shining a spotlight on that by forcing him into his own personal war.

Verdict

It’s impossible not to see how Rolling Thunder has influenced genres over the years, and has even been directly referenced (the afore-mentioned Desperado owes a big nod for sure). There are some great set-pieces throughout and in particular the climactic shootout is pretty darn brutal. I wish I had seen this earlier because it would have been a surefire case for out Unseen Classics series.

Highly Recommended. Fans of 70’s thrillers need to see this.

9 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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