A Soldier’s Story (1984)

Directed by Norman Jewison. Starring Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Dennis Lipscomb, Art Evans, William Allen Young, Denzel Washington, David Harris, Robert Townsend, Trey Wilson, Larry Riley, David Alan Grier, Wings Hauser, John Hancock. [PG]

Another racially-charged murder mystery from director Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night), this one set on a segregated Army base in the South during WWII. A black officer from Washington D.C. (Rollins) arrives to investigate the murder of a tough and sadistic (and self-loathing) sergeant (Caesar), who proves to have been as unpopular with racist locals and white officers as he was with most members of his all-black company. The mystery aspect is awfully pedestrian, with information doled out through interrogations and flashbacks instead of compelling procedure or suspense, but the writing is intelligent and perceptive, and the cast mostly up to task. Oddly enough, the most interesting and well-crafted character in the film is the “corpse,” shrewdly performed by Caesar; playing one of the company privates, Washington demonstrates in just his second film role to have an assured command of the screen. He, Caesar, and Young are carryovers from the original Negro Ensemble Company that performed in the off-Broadway production (Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play) upon which the film is based. Music by Herbie Hancock. Patti LaBelle has a small role.

74/100