Film Review: "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" (2016).

"From the Academy Award-winning director of Life of Pi" comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. This war drama film directed by Ang Lee, adapted by Jean-Christophe Castelli, and based on the novel of the same name by Ben Fountain. The film is told from the view of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn who, along with fellow soldiers, is hailed as a 'hero' after a harrowing Iraq battle. He'is brought home for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, the film reveals what really happened to the squad - contrasting the realities of the war with America's perceptions.

In 2014, the novel was first adapted into a screenplay by Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar-winning screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, which was then rewritten by Castelli. It was set to be produced by Film4 in collaboration with a U.S. production company, The Ink Factory, Sony Pictures' TriStar film studio division, China's Bona Film Group and Studio 8, which is backed by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, and Lee in the director's chair. By early April 2015, Garrett Hedlund, Steve Martin, Beau Knapp, Kristen Stewart, Ben Platt, Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker, and newcomer Joe Alwyn were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in mid May. Filming took place in Georgia and Morocco, and was shot on an unprecedented high frame rate of 120 frames per second in 3D at 4K HD resolution. Making it the first feature film ever to be shot in such a high frame rate, over twice the previous record (Peter Jackson's 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, shot at 48 fps) and five times the standard speed of 24 fps. Due to the complexity involved in shooting at a very high frame rate, Lee could not afford to do many takes even for a single scene. Every shot was both difficult and precious. He would rehearse every scene beforehand and would conduct regular morning meetings with the key crew members to highlight things they needed to be alert on. Shooting close-up shots in 3D with such high resolution meant the cast could not wear make-up and could not deliver less-than-authentic performances. Throughout filming, the production team had to rethink everything, including different approaches to make-up and lighting as the camera needed extra lights due to the higher frame rates. To film the war sequences, Lee strayed from the usual practice of moving cameras to create confusion. Instead he did the opposite by shooting mostly from the protagonist's point-of-view to capture the realism and to look more authentic. Post production took over a year to complete, and was completed just a day before its world premiere in New York City on October 14.

Terrific performances were given by the cast, especially from Alwyn, who was able to bring an emotional and existential intensity like a veteran performer despite being a cinematic newcomer.

A 3D / 120 frames per second adaptation of the sharp, satirical book, Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk achieves what the book set out to do – it's an astonishing technical achievement that's also emotionally rewarding.

Simon says Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk receives:

Also, see my review for Life of Pi.