Review: ‘The General’s Daughter’ a Good 1999 Throwback Thriller, with Progressive Thematic Elements to Boot

“The General’s Daughter” — the Simon West 1999 film — is interesting, if for no other reason than the murder of a prominent general’s daughter isn’t the film’s most interesting angle. John Travolta is also interesting, playing both a holier-than-thou detective and soldier, sandwiching in-between his then-usual everyman quality (“Phenomenon”) or megalomania (“Broken Arrow”). The film plays like a police procedural (even drawing on the cop/outsider status seen in Sidney Poitier’s “In the Heat of the Night”), but also shines a light on the Military, sexual abuse, and the devastating effects of protection codes for toxic male behavior. 

What’s good about “The General’s Daughter” is the amount of character building it devotes to Travolta’s Paul Brenner, even if some of it’s cumbersome. Early on we see him working a sting operation to catch an arms dealer, and his bravado is only checked by his intellect. But later — when he meets the General’s daughter (Leslie Stafanson, playing Elisabeth Campbell) — he’s charming, but balancing the fine line between flirtation and harassment. His early interactions with Elisabeth before she’s found dead sets up the kinds of culprits he’ll come up against later, and in West’s hands — based off a novel by author Nelson DeMille — is more progressive than late ‘90s thrillers were used to seeing. 

Travolta Leads a Solid Cast

The actors are all par for the course, and play well here. James Cromwell plays the General — Joseph Campbell — and is eschewing that same type of “real world” acceptance he played in “Eraser,” released three years prior. There’s also Timothy Hutton and James Woods, playing different colonel’s, who propel the plot along. One interrogation scene between Woods’ Col. Moore and Brenner is written so wittily perfect, you’ll drink up every moment between the two intellectuals. Some ancillary characters — such as Colonel Fowler (Clarence Williams III) and a local police chief Yardley (Daniel von Bargen) — provide necessary commentary on the cultures here: both military and southern. 

The film also enters Madeleine Stowe (“The Last of the Mohicans”) as a rape investigator who used to be romantically involved with Travolta’s Brenner — and the comic relief their bickering offers — as well as the likability Stowe brings to the role — is palpable. Scenes where she and Paul discuss their relationship hint at both cheekiness and characters that are imperfect, and the way that West doesn’t connect the dots for us at the film’s conclusion is even more appreciated. 

Addressing Institutional Corruption and all its Messiness

Stowe’s Sara Sunhill is also the brunt of much of the film’s overt male aggression (“you’re a rape investigator, maybe this will make you better at your job” taunts a group of soldiers threatening her with rape). And I appreciated the way that while she can’t do much during that scene, Brenner’s over-the-top alpha male status is redirected to weed out and punish the perps that did it. And while the film doesn’t say it explicitly, the event likely leads Brenner and Sunhill on a path to digging deeper into Elisabeth Campbell’s life to uncover the truth. West and DeMille’s winning argument is that her murder isn’t the worst thing she encountered in her life, and the closing scene — as Brenner addresses this — hits home with the necessity it should. 

“The General’s Daughter’”s not perfect, of course, and has some meandering moments, but it tries. It’s a film that takes on an institution — in this case the Military — and highlights the damage of keeping secrets. It also questions the harm of the “code” that keeps these institutions protected from justice because of tradition. A scene between Sunhill, Brenner, and a colonel who was Elisabeth’s therapist (a great John Beasley) hammers this home. And the overarching point DeMille makes and West translates to screen is that abuse is not something to cover up, but to own, and that protecting the people we love trumps tradition, code, and career. In her brief screen-time as Elisabeth, Leslie Stafanson excels at showing the character’s charm and exuberant personality. She makes Elisabeth human. And West’s winning argument is that the ensuing investigation — uncovering sexual fetishism and decadence doesn’t demean Campbell’s character — it does the opposite. 

A Thriller that Holds Up

All-in-all, “The General’s Daughter” is a good film. I watched it first when it came out all those years ago, and was pleased to see it holds up on re-watch. It works as a thriller, with plenty of misdirection and intrigue, but also holds more. Its empathy and assault on dangerous institutions is apropos, and certainly progressive for the time. With Travolta and Stowe leading a good cast, it’s a unique film, and one worth catching if you find yourself hopelessly scrolling through Netflix. 

“The General’s Daughter” is streaming on Netflix.