BIFF 2011: A MARINE STORY review

People seem to lump Ned Farr's A Marine Story in with the countless 'lesbian movies' out there, but it's a measure of how good the film is that the protagonist's sexuality is one of the least interesting things about it. Superficially, this is a story about a career army officer, thrown out of the US military under its controversial Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy once her sexual orientation comes to light - and that is a worthy thing to be talking about - but it's as much about what someone who's come to depend on a guiding influence in their life does when that influence gets taken away.

The idea of a hero who needs to find a new direction is a premise that's been wheeled out countless times before, and Farr can't quite sell the idea of the Marine Corps as lord and saviour of the disadvantaged without a couple of missteps (even unintentional giggles), but the focus on the characters coupled with some excellent performances from a largely unknown cast make this far, far more than a cookie-cutter Lifetime special or guilty pleasure.

Alex (Dreya Weber) is a veteran from a military family who's just returned to the small town where she grew up, ostensibly on extended leave. When pressed by her childhood sweetheart Leo (Anthony Michael Jones), she has to admit she's been dishonourably discharged a year short of qualifying for her pension - and it quickly becomes obvious what 'For conduct unbecoming' means. Clearly hurting inside, Alex isn't sure what to do next beyond drinking herself into a stupor.

After making a citizen's arrest on a meth addict shoplifter, the local police chief approaches Alex with a project. Saffron (Paris Pickard), the culprit's girlfriend, picked up for aiding and abetting is facing either jail time or the military. Alex agrees to take a shot at getting the surly young woman into shape for the rigours of boot camp, so she's not thrown straight back out of basic training and packed off to a cell.

While a relationship does develop between the two leads, it's more a grudging bond than anything else. The two plot threads - Saffron's makeover and Alex coming to terms with who she is without the army - are interdependent, but they don't cross over. Again, the idea of a teacher hauling a reluctant student back from the brink isn't new, but it's done so well and both characters developed carefully and sympathetically enough this is never much of an issue.

Like any story driven by faith in a higher power - honour thy commanding officer and obey them without question, if you like - it's difficult to convey the value people put on a stay in the military to someone who hasn't served. A Marine Story does stumble a few times trying this, with little gestures like Alex raising the flag over her family home or her attempt to explain the killing impulse to Saffron drifting a little too close to simplistic hoo-rah posturing to work as well as they ought to.

But the film is clearly much more interested in exploring who its cast are as people rather than glorifying the military. The script resorts to clumsy exposition every now and again, particularly when skewering Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but at the same time Ned Farr manages to coax a good deal of raw, affecting emotion out of even the simplest confrontations. When Leo introduces Alex to his drinking buddies and their initial contempt for a woman in the army spills over into open aggression, Weber conveys a wealth of subtext in her reactions to the violence.

It's also the sense all of them grow as people through each act, often confounding easy stereotypes in the process. While this is definitely small town Americana, watching Leo'd buddies come to respect Alex after the fight or she and Saffron slowly become friends feels both plausibly human and more like a reward earned than plot beats milked for an easy payoff. It's not an overly long film, but very little feels rushed; Saffron takes her time to come around, and when a friend of Alex's takes her out to a local gay bar her initial reaction is the frightened thought someone might see who knows her.

Frustratingly, Farr can't keep the quality up all the way through. The climax where Saffron's past needs confronting is a reasonable attempt at introducing some actual peril, but it still feels contrived. While the production values are fairly slick for a low-budget indie drama, the final set piece looks markedly cheaper, with the action - such as it is - falling largely flat. Given the story largely resists going for the easy option, the conclusion feels like something of a letdown, especially one truly awful line in the epilogue.

Nonetheless A Marine Story is largely a success, a thoughtful, compassionate little story about much more than coming out or coming home. While it's based on true events and showing up some nigh-on indefensible behaviour on the part of the U.S. army, it's never just a polemic or a sermon on behalf of liberal values - it's a pleasure just to spend time in the company of the protagonists, hoping they can get back on their feet. For all its minor flaws, Ned Farr's film makes for compelling, moving watching for anyone with a heart, and comes strongly recommended.

(A Marine Story was shown as part of the 17th Bradford International Film Festival, which ran at the UK National Media Museum in Bradford from 16th-27th March 2011.)