“Catch-22” follows the adventures and misadventures of a U.S. air squadron in Italy during World War II.
By now, the Catch-22 regulation will ring familiar with most people. In essence, a man willing to undertake dangerous combat air missions must be insane and therefore unfit to fly. However, in order to be relieved from duty, he must make a formal request, thereby indicating that he is actually sane. Request denied.
The Hulu series mirrors the organization of the novel by presenting a jumbled chronology – though less so than the somewhat lengthy manuscript. This plot device enhances the frustration resulting from the ubiquitous bureaucracy and doublespeak embodied within the wartime military machine. The message constructed by the personalities and events in “Catch-22” will not escape any except perhaps the most obtuse of viewers.
An excellent cast includes Christopher Abbott as the antihero John Yossarian, desperate to get out of the military at any cost. His repeated attempts inevitably fail, despite the increasing levels of creativity he employs. Each time Yossarian nears the requisite number of missions flown necessary for a return home, Colonel Cathcart (Kyle Chandler) keeps raising the target.
Chandler turns in yet another strong performance as an ostensibly rough and tough Cathcart, who nonetheless wavers alternatively between the comic, obsequious and malleable in equal measure. George Clooney plays Lieutenant and eventually General Scheisskopf. Hugh Laurie shows up in a very limited turn as Major de Coverley. Tessa Ferrer as Nurse Duckett empathizes warmly with Yossarian and his continual quest to escape the Army Air Force by whatever means available.
The bulk of the action takes place on the Italian island of Pianosa, eight miles south of Elba. Early training scenes depict exercises at the Santa Ana Army Air Base in California. The extensive supporting cast includes Rafi Gavron, Graham Patrick Martin, Kevin J. O’Connor, Austin Stowell, Jon Rudnitsky, Gerran Howell, Lewis Pullman, Jay Paulson, and Grant Heslov. Mess officer Milo Minderbinder (Daniel David Steward) enthusiastically represents the truest of capitalist intentions by transforming his food procurement operation into an international black-market syndicate, complete with enemy collusion. Giancarlo Giannini portrays a cynical Italian who philosophizes astutely while indolently running his house of ill repute.
Similar to the way “M*A*S*H,” nominally set in Korea, was really about Vietnam, “Catch-22” says more about today’s military-industrial complex than it does about World War II – a note not without irony and certainly intended by the filmmakers. Heller’s satire may deride the military institution of World War II, but at least that arsenal of democracy ginned up by FDR maintained a specific purpose – to thwart the egregious and indefensible aggression of Germany and Japan. No longer. Sadly, the U.S. continues to chase those long lost days of glory in new campaigns that produce a cycle of endless war. Entry into Afghanistan, for example, now approaches its twenty-year anniversary with no satisfactory conclusion in sight.
The Vietnam War boosted the popularity of “Catch-22,” given its anti-establishment undercurrents. The release of Mike Nichols’ 1970 film version further enhanced the book’s stature. Nichols’ cinematic effort suffered, however, from two key elements. For one, the two-hour runtime could not hope to capture the essence of such a sprawling novel. Second, perhaps more importantly, the movie version of “M*A*S*H” released earlier that same year clearly did a better job of evoking the absurdity of war and aspects of the military. This year’s Hulu adaptation enables the elaborate narrative to develop more fully across nearly four-and-a-half hours.
At first blush, Clooney’s Scheisskopf might seem over the top – as if a refugee from a Coen Brothers film – until one consults the current political environment, where clear-eyed facts often possess little value and can even become liabilities. Scheisskopf’s fastidious attention to precision marching exercises seems silly and vacuous. Yet that trait lands him one promotion after another along his quixotic journey fueled purely by personal ambition.
Luke Davies and David Michôd adapted the screenplay from Heller’s novel and do an admirable job of capturing its essence. Martin Ruhe’s splendid cinematography also highlights this lavish production.
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Ellen Kuras each direct two of the six episodes. Produced by Clooney, Heslov, and Richard Brown, the superb two-disc package contains several special features, including some delightfully funny outtakes.
In many ways, this recent iteration may inspire audiences to read the book, where the motivation of each character comes into sharper focus. Hulu’s Emmy-nominated limited series brings to the screen one of the most acclaimed war novels of all time. While it may take a couple of episodes to get into, the perseverance proves well worth the wait.
Available on DVD November 19th
