Review of Coming Home (1978)

Introduction

Cheerful Sally the Captain`s wife is not quite sure what to do with herself when her husband is posted to Vietnam. Meeting Vi she finds a friend outside of the claustrophobic married quarters. Recklessly she decides to stay in town instead of joining her mother for the duration.

Sally buys a roadster and rents the house next to the beach. She stops straightening her hair and starts to help out at the Veteran`s hospital. A chance meeting with Luke a football hero from her cheerleading days at high school leads to a new friendship. Luke is a paraplegic, wounded whilst serving as a marine in Vietnam he is increasingly disillusioned by the war but feels helpless to do anything.

It is a shocking event that leads Luke to become proactive in the anti-war effort and Sally to realise that her relationship with him is more than just friendship.
When Sally`s husband returns home she may have to choose between them.

Video

This film was made in 1978 and this budget release reflects the comparative age of the print used. Don`t expect too much and you won`t be disappointed as ever.

Audio

Featuring a well-stuffed 60`s soundtrack the music of Coming Home reflects the turbulent and changing period of the time with The Rolling Stones amongst others.

Features

Nothing to see on here, a very basic disc. It does have a subtitle track in different languages which turned out to be helpful in identifying the music tracks used.

Conclusion

Jane Fonda was known for her vehemently anti Vietnam stance and this film certainly seems to reflect her personal views. `Coming Home` looks at the war and how it impacts on lives. Using real paraplegics it deals with questions about sexuality and power in the changing society. It also acknowledges that war creates mental casualties as well as physical injury. Not a popular choice in the American post-Vietnam culture where the war became something to forget. Jane Fonda is also a matter of personal taste

A cross between a tender love story and a social statement `Coming Home` simplifies the story somewhat and falters in trying to draw huge conclusions from one story. It also draws comparisons with ` Born on the Fourth Of July` which has the virtue of being based on a true story.

The film is also let down by the quality of the reproduction and it seems to be standard practise to roll out cheap copies which are unfortunately overpriced in the UK market.