'Full Metal Jacket' 25 years old today...

In the film that jump-started his career, Vincent D'Onofrio portrays the character of 'Leonard Lawrence' best known as 'Private Pyle'. It would take a tip from his good friend, Matthew Modine, for Vincent to send a demo reel all the way to Stanley Kubrick in England to be considered for the part. There wasn't the technology in communication as there is today yet he landed the role. After settling in England, he put on 70 pounds, a record that still stands today, because it was thought that a heavier character would make a bigger impact rather than a thinly built 'weak' man.

At the beginning of the film when 'Private Pyle' is introduced we see the 'dumbly sweet' face of a young soldier who is lost in a place he clearly can't cope. Later, we see the face of a taunted/ridiculed man, complete with the infamous 'Kubrick stare', who spirals downward into a depression that causes the death of his drill sergeant and his subsequent suicide. It is raw and graphic; war is not pretty before, during and after.

Many people will comment that the first half of 'FMJ' is the most memorable because of the portrayal Vincent gives his character and the film sometimes feels like it is 'two halves' due to the strong contrast. However, there are moments in the 'second half' of 'FMJ' that are just as startling. For example, when 'Joker', Matthew Modine's character, must decide to put a suffering Vietnamese woman, who has been shot, out of her misery. It is a show of compassion for the enemy over a missed opportunity for his fellow comrade 'Pyle' who he describes as a 'Section 8' yet doesn't do anything to alert his superiors.

I'll admit I didn't even know that Vincent was in this film when I first saw it and it's true of most all of them. He has that way of morphing into a character that is unique to the point of remembering character over actor and isn't that the goal?

'Full Metal Jacket' was made with an estimated budget of 17 million dollars and has grossed over 46 million dollars to date.  On June 26, 1987, 'FMJ' was first released and in its first weekend box office earned over 2 million dollars.

Tonight, 'FMJ' will be shown on TV on various networks and after 25 years still holds up as an important film.  After all, it brought us to the attention of a young actor named Vincent D'Onofrio!