Rolling Thunder (1976)

After all that talk of Rolling Thunder and Tarantino during watching Chungking Express, i was overcome with curiosity about the film- Rolling Thunder, it's self and it was a pleasant surprise to find it was on LoveFilm Online, seemingly just waiting for me.
Rolling Thunder is a post Vietnam film, the type where the protagonist comes back from war to find everything has changed and they've lost their place in society. Yeah we've all see one. The main character in this film has more than average malaise to contend with- i guess the film seems like its going to be one thing and changes gear halfway through and becomes a revenge film.
I don't know if you remember the film-within-the-film from True Romance, 'Home In a Bodybag' but i'd say 'Tino got the idea from this film- i say that because I get this feeling that someone told Tarantino that this was the most authentic Vietnam film.
In hindsight, it seems like stunt-casting to make the bad guy from Dynasty or Knots Landing to make the sympathetic Vietnam vet stretched to the limits of his humanity and see Tommy Lee Jones playing second fiddle to him but William Devane shows off some real chops as a man who's personality and sense of self completely vacated; someone who's loosing his grasp on giving and receiving affection or pain, or displaying his humanity. Like I say, it's very strange to see Tommy Lee Jones so underused but the way he's used sparingly through the film works well in its favor becuase hs character is probably more disconnected from Devane.
I certainly can't think of a better 'coming-home-after-war' film- it's short, pacey while at the same time it can be methodical and the end might be predictably enviable after the 1st half but it's in no rush to dote on it.
The film was one of the 1st things that Paul Schrader wrote; possibly the 3rd thing after The Yakuza and Taxi Driver and it's certainly easy to tell that the writer is at the height of his story telling powers because it's not convoluted with any unnecessary sub-plots or characters; everything serves a purpose.
But it's not the best film made by anyone involved yet it had enough going on to sustain your interest....

I watched Rolling Thunder (1977) on LoveFilm Online.
My 2011 in Movies will return with Transformers 3D- Dark Side of the Moon (2011)...