THE GENERALS DAUGHTER:
Starring John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton and James Woods. Rated M.
THERE are three ways to do things - the right way, the wrong way and the army way. Armed with this simple brief, WO Paul Brenner (Travolta), a top investigator from the US Army's CID, is let loose on an unsuspecting and highly secretive army with a dark secret.
The crime - an apparent rape and murder where the victim is staked to the ground, spreadeagled, in the middle of an active MOUT facility. The victim - daughter to a general (then captain) whose leadership and personal encouragement got Brenner through the horrors of Vietnam -- General Fighting Joe Campbell (Cromwell).
Speed is of the essence. With the death coming just days after the general's retirement from the army in preparation for his presidential aspirations

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and the mandatory involvement of the feds after 48 hours, a speedy conclusion to Brenner's investigation would suit everybody nicely. "Are you a policeman or a soldier?" is the dilemma Brenner faces as the case becomes less and less routine or clear-cut.
With a massive chip sitting squarely on each shoulder and armed with the power to arrest any military person, regardless of rank, anywhere in the world, Brenner is determined to solve this crime and maybe save his hero and the general's daughter from any more embarrassment than is necessary. After all, his Vietnam-war hero and leader may soon be his president.
Teamed with rape councillor and CID veteran, Sara Sunhill (Stowe), in a partnership that works very well despite their past personal history, Brenner is like a dog with a bone. He won't let go of this one. And the fact that he's the biggest, meanest dog on the block doesn't hurt either. It seems rubbing people the wrong way is his favourite path to banter - banter that may lead to cracks in the otherwise tight military armour that prefers to close ranks to protect its shiny public image regardless of the risk of running roughshod over justice.
The General's Daughter is a powerful and well-presented psychological action drama that screws with your mind to the very end. For the Travolta fan, you can chalk this one up as another powerful and creditable performance for the reborn Hollywood superstar. Stowe was a well-cast counter to Branner's gruff, macho demeanour but with a no-less powerful strength of intelligence and woman's guile.
On the downside, I was slightly annoyed by the constant flashbacks, many of which were, at best, unnecessary garnish to the overall salad, but in many cases, annoying explanations of facts and ideas that the producers thought we would be too dumb to pick up on if left to our own devices. The worst case in point is when Brenner realises the victim is none other than the woman who helped him change his tyre the night before. We were obviously too dumb to put two and two together ourselves and had to be shown, through Brenner's flashback. But then, we have to remember that Hollywood is forced, after all, to produce its celluloid for a market dumb enough to believe in Drop Bears and Hoop Snakes.