Buffalo Soldiers

Buffalo Soldiers begins with an appealing promise: Gregor Jordan will treat its comedy framework as a route into character rather than an excuse for noise. The early chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and Anna Paquin gives Buffalo Soldiers an immediate pulse. The story of Buffalo Soldiers begins from a specific pressure point: A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall. By the end of its 1h 38m running time, the value of Buffalo Soldiers rests less on novelty than on the care of its execution.

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The acting in Buffalo Soldiers is anchored by Joaquin Phoenix, who treats even functional scenes as opportunities to reveal character. Anna Paquin answers that approach with a different energy, giving Buffalo Soldiers welcome friction whenever the pace begins to settle. Around them, Ed Harris helps Buffalo Soldiers feel like an ensemble piece rather than a vehicle with decorative support. Under Gregor Jordan, the performances in Buffalo Soldiers share a tone even when the writing gives them unequal depth.

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Buffalo Soldiers gains much of its identity from comic timing built around character, a choice that makes the world readable as well as attractive. The contribution of FilmFour allows Buffalo Soldiers to combine comic timing built around character with a consistent visual language. Within its United Kingdom setting, Buffalo Soldiers makes particularly good use of well judged reactions when the story needs to change scale. Sound and editing preserve the personality of Buffalo Soldiers by supporting detail instead of announcing every intended response.

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Rather than summarise every event in Buffalo Soldiers, it is enough to note how West Germany places Berlin under growing pressure. Joaquin Phoenix gives that tension a face, which stops Buffalo Soldiers from becoming a mechanical sequence of developments. Robert O'Connor uses the central character to widen the stakes of Buffalo Soldiers without losing sight of the original problem. Where an important relationship becomes predictable, Buffalo Soldiers recovers interest through the consequences surrounding it.

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As director of Buffalo Soldiers, Gregor Jordan proves alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them in the transitions between intimate material and larger demands. A strong scene in Buffalo Soldiers often begins with a modest detail before Gregor Jordan lets its meaning expand. For Buffalo Soldiers, the cast and craft keep the experience watchable because the central tone remains visible even during busy passages. The weakness in Buffalo Soldiers is that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested, although Gregor Jordan usually finds the original rhythm again.

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Buffalo Soldiers uses its comedy framework to consider embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. For the character played by Joaquin Phoenix, that idea gives Buffalo Soldiers stakes beyond the next immediate obstacle. The recurring pressure of Berlin prevents the theme in Buffalo Soldiers from feeling like decoration added after the story. Gregor Jordan makes Buffalo Soldiers more thoughtful whenever the implications remain inside action and reaction.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, Buffalo Soldiers is ultimately an uneven film with enough personality to remain interesting. Its most persuasive combination in Buffalo Soldiers brings Joaquin Phoenix together with well judged reactions under the direction of Gregor Jordan. The fact that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested prevents Buffalo Soldiers from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Buffalo Soldiers has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.