The setting is Fort Neal, Louisiana and a Black Non-Commissioned sergeant, Vernon Waters (Adolph Caesar), while walking back to the fort, intoxicated, is beaten, then shot and killed in cold blood. Colonel Nivens (Trey Wilson) suspects two white soldiers were involved but buries the investigation to avoid a race riot amongst the troops. Captain Charles Taylor (Dennis Lipscomb) requests Washington send an investigator to ferret out the guilty party and is shocked when the response is Captain Richard Davenport (Henry E. Rollins Jr), a black officer from DC. Taylor feels that the locals, as well as the white soldiers, will not cooperate with a black investigator and that the investigation would be better off suspended instead, not because he doesn’t want the culprits caught but because he thinks they won’t be because in the south a black man cannot arrest and prosecute white men.
The film tries hard to make us assume the guilty party is white. When we see the killing happen in the opening scene, however we do not see, even in silhouette, who does it. All we are shown is Sergeant Waters bloodied from an apparent attack, then him getting shot in the chest. The next day when the other black soldiers line up in the morning and are told what happened the assumption they jump to is that the Klan must have done it. There is no thought or suggestion amongst them that it may have been anyone other than the Klan, let alone one of their own. The fact that Water’s rank and stripes were left intact doesn’t assuage their beliefs that the Klan was involved. Two white soldiers get called in for questioning but this information is kept from the black soldiers and redacted from the official investigation by orders of Colonel Nivens ostensibly over concerns of a race riot breaking out.
When Captain Davenport begins interrogating the black soldiers it doesn’t take long to start forming a picture of just what type of a man Sergeant Waters really was. With each interrogation we get a lengthy flashback detailing important information about the key players. Private Wilkie (Art Evans) was Waters’ lackey, willing to do whatever he was asked, ethical or not. He describes Waters as strict but fair even though he stripped Wilkie of his rank for being drunk on duty, something he feels should have been handled much more leniently. Interviews with Private Peterson (Denzel Washington) paint an even clearer picture of the man, showing him to be a tyrannical man with a deep seated disgust for his fellow black soldiers, especially the southern ones. He takes an especial dislike for C.J. (Larry Riley), a musician whose physical size and baseball skills make him a favorite amongst the troops. Through direct actions of Waters, C.J. is thrown in military prison and, claustrophobic, CJ hangs himself shortly afterwards. The men rightfully blame Waters for the death.
This movie explores the subject of racism but not in the typical way. This portrayal of racism is far more subtler than films that tackle slavery or the fight for equality generally do. For instance, when Captain Davenport first arrives off the bus he is met by Corporal Ellis (Robert Townsend), a black soldier who is startled to see a fellow black man in officer’s uniform. This is something none of the men here have seen before. There are a scattering of townspeople, both white and black, who are equally shocked by the sight, standing in the streets gawking. No one, however, shouts out a racial slur or acts aggressive towards him. Similar reactions abound when Davenport is brought into the fort and introduced to the leaders. The black soldiers are excited, staring at him as he passes by. At one point a white instructor leading a group of black soldiers in calisthenics yells out, “What’s the matter? Have you never seen a black officer before,” to which one of the black soldiers responds, “Have you?”
The concerns of racial tension are justified and Captain Taylor’s leeriness over Davenport’s assignment prove to be somewhat accurate. Taylor is not acting from a position of perceived racial superiority, though. He legitimately likes the black soldiers. The black men, most of which came from the Negro Leagues, play baseball for the military and dominate their white opponents. During some particularly great plays Taylor cheers them on when the other white officers just glower and stare him down. Taylor’s concerns that a black investigator will prevent cooperation from any white interviewees comes from a logical assessment of people’s mentalities at the time. He does believe the two white soldiers interviewed prior to Davenport’s arrival are the guilty party, though, and Davenport soon believes that, too.
A Soldier’s Story takes place in Louisiana but it was filmed in Arkansas. This allowed director Norman Jewison to take advantage of the Arkansas military with the assistance of future US President Bill Clinton. The script tackles some pretty heavy subjects and most studios didn’t want to touch it because of that. It only got picked up thanks to an extremely low budget and Jewison taking the lowest possible paycheck for it (He offered to work for free but the Director’s Guild forbade it). The climactic moment where hundreds of black soldiers are seen marching down the street was made possible by Clinton who offered the use of real soldiers since the film’s budget wouldn’t support that many extras. That scene makes a powerful statement about the black soldiers that’s punctuated by Davenports statement to Colonel Nivens that he will get used to seeing, and working with, black officers. The soldiers have just finished celebrating being allowed to go to war and face off with Germany and more changes were just on the horizon. At its heart this is a story about equality and perceptions wrapped up in a legitimately well crafted murder mystery.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Norman Jewison, Patrick Palmer, and Ronald L. Schwary
Best Adapted Screenplay: Charles Fuller
Best Supporting Actor: Adolph Caesar
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Release Date: September 14, 1984
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rated PG
Starring: Howard E. Rollins Jr, and Adolph Caesar
Directed By: Norman Jewison
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