Last weekend I sat down, put in the DVD and watched Pearl Harbor, again. Even though the characters and their personal lives were fictional I felt the story behind the characters was true. An entertaining film which I believe would fall under the genre of historical drama with a romantic twist. However, some reviews I read felt just the opposite. It was more of a romance with little historical accuracy. .
The movie gave me a visual aspect of what I have studied in history classes through the years, Pearl Harbor and D-Day. It added a side never presented in class that of the possibility of romance during war. .
The plot revolved around two local boys from Tennessee, Rafe McCawley played by actor Ben Affleck and Danny Walker played by actor Josh Hartnett, both very eye appealing. The two young boys are natural pilots taught by McCawley's father, a war veteran and now a crop duster. I was automatically drawn to like both of these characters.
The friends grow up and join the service together. Now comes plot number two, enter the female. Evelyn, a military nurse played by actress Kate Beckinsale. The love triangle begins to develop early on and continues through until the end of the movie. .
Although the story line was fictionalized it allowed me to believe that such a relationship could have actually taken place. How romantic I found that to be. Rafe first meets Evelyn and falls in love. They say good-bye and head off to war, each in different places. When Rafe gets shot down and is presumed dead, his best friend Danny steps in to console a grieving Evelyn. The two now fall in love and all is well until Rafe returns. A little predictable but none-the-less enjoyable. The romance heats up as Evelyn is torn between the two and they are fighting over her. Although Evelyn loves Danny now and soon discovers she is pregnant with his child, she has never quit loving Rafe. The two friends reconcile and are accepting of the others feelings.