Tyler Perry’s Cosplay of a War Movie Hardly Does Its Subjects Justice

As a seasoned cinephile who has witnessed the evolution of filmmaking across decades and genres, I must say that watching “The Six Triple Eight” was like attending a school play of “Saving Private Ryan.” The film starts with the promise of an intriguing historical tale, only to devolve into a poorly executed, underfunded production.

In an effort to keep administrative tasks engaging on screen, even when they were crucial in reality, The Six Triple Eight delays revealing its subject matter about wartime mail delivery for as long as feasible. Instead, it initiates the narrative with the conventional thrill of warfare. The story begins at the Battle of San Pietro in 1943, where a soldier stops amidst the chaos to extract a pilot’s last letter from the wreckage of a crashed plane. This is followed by a shift to Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, a year prior, where Lena Derriecott King (portrayed by Ebony Obsidian) is being picked up from school by Abram David (played by Gregg Sulkin), a wealthy Jewish family’s scion. Their interracial relationship stirs up animosity in some members of their community, and Abram’s evasive conversations do little to alleviate Lena’s affection for him. She follows him to the European theater after he enlists. Unlike other filmmakers who might foreshadow this young love with tragedy given that we soon discover Abram’s body was the one pulled from the plane, The Six Triple Eight, directed by Tyler Perry, lacks subtlety and finesse, much like a war epic performed by an underfunded high-school drama club.

In a nutshell: Susan Sarandon’s portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt seems strikingly similar to someone who might have done their own aging makeup in a high school auditorium using talcum powder and a chalk pencil. Oprah, when she appears as civil-rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, sports what looks like store-bought hair extensions attached to her temples. The film, The Six Triple Eight, which is supposed to be a prestige project, lacks the polish one might expect from a production of this caliber. Instead, it appears that the director may not have fully grasped how to create a larger-scale production, and the result feels more like a cost-cutting measure rather than a limited budget issue. The film’s sets and dialogue seem staged and lacking in authenticity, with the sets appearing devoid of life and the dialogue veering between casual regional dialogues and stiff, unnatural exchanges that avoid contractions. The movie, set during World War II, seems more like it’s playing dress-up from the era rather than accurately depicting it.

In a different take, things seem to improve when the unit known as The Six Triple Eight arrives in Glasgow. They’re stationed within dilapidated school buildings to tackle an overwhelming pile of unsorted mail. The film initially appears like a softened version of Full Metal Jacket, but Perry’s approach is problematic. He attempts to frame their story as one of exceptionalism, focusing more on the racial discrimination they faced in the military rather than their significant accomplishments.

At times, similar to when certain officers attempt to maneuver her soldiers towards the rear of a cinema, she displays indignant wrath. However, there are instances, such as when a clergyman labels her wicked and unfit during his sermon or a stern general (Dean Norris) belittles her for not rousing her night-duty personnel for an inspection, she must endure the harshness until she can no longer bear it and explodes. The film’s depictions of raw racism, like the battle scenes at the beginning, seem to hold more appeal for Perry than the women’s actions when left unsupervised, a fact that is unfortunately underscored by the scarcity of screen time dedicated to their accomplishments. Essentially, The Six Triple Eight aims to honor individuals who were unacknowledged for their feats during their lifetime, but in its attempt to rectify this on-screen, it unfortunately transforms into a story more about their hardships than their achievements.

2024-12-06 21:55

Tyler Perry’s Cosplay of a War Movie Hardly Does Its Subjects Justice

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