Some of my thoughts on U-571. Feel free to email me with your comments!
Young American sailors battle Nazi submarines and destroyers - that's what the main premise of the film U-571 is, and it's enough to grab audience attention. Universal Pictures latest action release opened with a strong start this weekend gaining the top spot grossing in 20.3 million.
The World War II action film is everything the trailers boast it to be. There's plenty of water, firepower and testosterone-driven men yelling "dive, dive, dive" to fulfill action-genre criteria. But coupled along with a strong ensemble cast, some sensitive acting and some neat special effects, U-571 goes beyond the call of duty.
Set against the Battle of the Atlantic, the American navy attempts to capture the German encryption machine, the Enigma. The capture of this machine will allow the Allies to decipher Nazi transmission, which has so far been costing the Allies the war. A team of young sailors get sent to capture the German submarine, U-571, but their ride home gets blown to pieces, which has them stranded aboard the crippled U-boat. As you can guess, that's where the real action starts to happen.
Director Jonathan Mostow does some nice handiwork framing the action sequences. Complementing his actors' worried looks with only the audio of the short-range bombs, Mostow creates a realistic tension and suspense while the rocking action of the camera, signaling the bomb's impact, really gives audiences the feel of being amidst the action. His subtle technique works effectively here, just as it did in Breakdown.
Equally effective is Matthew McConaughy who plays Lt. Andrew Tyler. McConaughy is capable of carrying the film alone, which is what he is forced to do as the rookie captain faced with the tough task of getting his crew home. Bill Paxton is strong as Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dalghren, though his character is severely underused. Budding talent Jack Noseworthy, Terrence (T.C.) Carson and Erik Palladino also give standout performances, adding their strengths to make the cast a convincing collective.
But where U-571 is on the mark with the tense action, it misses on historical accuracy. The actual U-571 submarine was destroyed by the Royal Australian Air Force and the first Enigma machine was captured aboard the U-110 by the Royal British Navy, before the Americans entered the war. But if you don't know much about history and only learn the facts after you've seen the movie, the historical fiction is almost like the real deal. But which movie really has been completely accurate anyway?
But people don't go see movies to check up on the facts, they go for thrill of the ride - which is what U-571 gives a healthy dose of.
Well, you know my opinion from the piece above. U-571 really was one of the better action movies I have seen in a while. The suspense was good and there were plenty of naval destroyers and airplanes to look at (I love military hardware!). Even my dad, the hardcore history buff of the family, had a good time, though he thought their military strategies were a little off.
But enough about the movie, let's talk about Erik since that's what this site is for. Erik gives a great performance as Private Mazzola. He's a helmsman, I believe. A very Dave-like character that's bold and mouthy. Erik gets plenty of screen-time too - more so than an episode of ER. Lots of good scenes that struts Erik's acting chops - particularly a certain climax. It's hard to go into detail without spoiling the movie, so the best advice I have is: GO SEE IT!!! (particularly you, Sondra, 'cause I know you'd like the scene with Erik topless!!)
Hollywood.com has some videos on-line of the U-571 premiere. Featured are Matthew McConaughy, Harvey Keitel, Jack Noseworthy and Erik Palladino.
The interview asked Erik which was busier: U-57 or ER? Erik said that it was a very good question and that the tone was similar and that both gave a good sense of reality. He said he had more fun working on U-571 though. Erik was accompanied by a woman, who I believe is his girlfriend Sarah-Jane Potts (the one with curly, blond hair and glasses).
The video is available here in Windows Media, Real Player and Quicktime format. (Quicktime recommended for high-quality viewing.)
Hollywood.com has an interview video with the ensemble cast of U-571 as well. Erik is featured alongside Jack Noseworthy. Erik comments that auditioning for an action film is really weird because you have to picture the action, like an airplane coming at you, and you have to be screaming at it (when it's not really there).
Again, it's available in the above three formats, but Quicktime gives you the best resolution.