Paul Brenner (John Travolta) is an undercover agent of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division Command, which focuses on crimes committed within the Army.
When the titular character, Captain Elisabeth Campbell, is found dead, Brenner is put on the case with Sara Sunhill (Madeline Stowe), a rape specialist and a former flame of Brenner's.
As their investigation progresses, the general's daughter turns out to be a far more complicated figure than they initially assumed - and it becomes clear that forces within the Army are not interested in solving the case.
One of the last of the nineties thrillers, The General's Daughter features a combination of ingredients that should work: it’s based on a bestselling book (by Nelson DeMille), it boasts a unique premise, a strong cast and a unique dash of Southern Gothic atmosphere.
Watching it through a contemporary lens, The General's Daughter should be worthy of another look - it is ultimately a movie about systemic abuse inside an institution (the US Army), and the ways in which the members of this institution will do anything to protect it.
John Travolta is okay in the central role. He brings a cockiness to the early scenes that I bought into. However, as the story progresses, I never felt like Travolta's performance showed any kind of reaction to the events around him.
Brenner is a career soldier who begins to realise that his loyalty to the army and his obligation to solve the case come into conflict. This might be a scripting issue but I never felt that conflict in Travolta's performance. Travolta is also more physically aggressive in a way that feels like an over-compensation.
Brenner is also meant to be older than Travolta was at the time, and that combination of age and old-fashioned machismo does not fit the actor. He convinces as a nervy man with a chip on his shoulder - which is something highlighted in the movie - but he cannot build beyond that.
Co-star Madeline Stowe is undermined by the script. She gets a couple moments of agency, but spends most of the movie conveniently removed from the action, or the script removes her intelligence to put her in greater peril. She also does not have much chemistry with Travolta - it does not help that their dynamic is purely combative, with no sense of evolution.
The big issue may be the man behind the helm.
Director Simon West shoots the film with plenty of style but when it comes to performances and the dramatic progression of the narrative, he is at sea. I cannot get it out of my mind that he was hired for this movie because some executive likes the bayou scene in West’s previous movie Con Air. That movie has all the depth of a puddle of rain, but it is great mess of an action movie. It knows exactly what it is.
The General’s Daughter is a very different entity, and demands an empathy for its characters that this film does not have. He leans into the over-heated atmosphere, with plenty of chiaroscuro and dutch angles. But the result is a cold movie - a disquieting mix of lurid subject matter with music video visuals that only detract from the subject matter.
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