Rating of
3/4
Race and rank collide in this riveting mystery
Indyfreak - wrote on 09/08/18
Powerfully acted wartime drama about a murder investigation of a black soldier (Caesar) during World War 2. The lead officer in charge (Rollins) has to piece together the differing stories concerning the victim's character and everyone's apparent motivations. On top of that, he has to contend with racist white officers and subterfuge by even fellow black soldiers.
There's a lot of great performances in A SOLDIER'S STORY. Rollins is the taciturn lawyer; Caesar is the loathsome tyrannical bully; Art Evans is the weaselly brown-noser; and a young Denzel Washington is quietly commanding as the intellectual with a rebellious streak. Washington especially shows hints of his signature charismatic screen presence in the making. Adolph Caesar is at once menacing and pathetic.
It helps that the murder investigation at hand is a well layered engaging mystery that touches upon the social issues of the period.
