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A Glimpse Of Hell

2002, Movie, PG-13, 85 mins

A Glimpse Of Hell: Review

GLIMPSE OF HELL, A
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Reality can be more frightening than fiction, as this tautly written, sharply directed and generally nerve-wracking TV docudrama demonstrates. The USS Iowa, a battleship with a venerable history is by 1989 showing signs of age. But Lieutenant Dan Meyer (Robert Sean Leonard) still chooses gun turret duty aboard the Iowa, nicknamed "The Point of the Sword," rather than following in the footsteps of his father, an illustrious submarine commander. Meyers' dream assignment doesn't turn out as he had envisioned. In addition to having to serve under Captain Fred Moosally (James Caan), an officer with no hands-on experience, Meyer finds himself coping with outmoded technology and an outspoken enlisted man named Dale Mortenson (Daniel Roebuck). Hoping to impress Naval big shots, Meyer initially pushes his men to pit themselves against the other gun stations in long-distance competitions. But after their first success, Meyer prudently concurs with Mortenson's assessment: They shouldn't push the limits of the aging turret. Unfortunately, a rival officer has no such compunctions and the explosion his recklessness precipitates kills 47 sailors. In the aftermath of the accident, Naval brass scramble to save face and Captain Moosally tries to salvage his shot at an admiralcy. Moosally steers investigators away from his gun crews' reckless one-upmanship, instead floating a rumor about one of the casualties, Clayton Hartwig (Dashiell Eaves). Could Hartwig's unrequited love for another sailor, Kendall Truitt (Jamie Harrold), have driven him to an explosive suicide? When Meyer stands up for the truth, he’s branded a disloyal snitch, and a congressional investigation is stonewalled. Only Captain Moosally can stand up for the accused, but anything less than total support for the official story will spell the end of his career. Working from the book by Charles C. Thompson, screenwriter David Freed subtly plants clues that point to a tragedy in the making; director Mikael Salomon then starts turning the screws as the conspiracy spreads. With its claustrophobic build-up and razor-sharp performances, this expose is as disheartening a portrait as any ever made of governmental buck-passing. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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