"The Outsider" is the mostly true story of Ira Hayes, a WWII hero who was reluctantly thrust into the limelight. While the story is interesting and worth seeing, sadly the film is also incredibly flawed and I think it's best you see a later re-telling of Hayes' story, "Flags of Our Fathers".
The story is based on Hayes experience as a US Marine during WWII. During the hellish battle of Iwo Jima, he came to fame because he was one of a group of soldiers who raised the American flag on Mount Sirubachi...a scene later imortalized by the Iwo Jima monument outside Arlington Cemetery. His difficulties coping with the ensuing fame and his post-war infamous exploits are detailed in the film.
The most obvious problem with "The Outsider" is the casting. Tony Curtis playes Hayes...even though the real Hayes was an American Indian from the Pima nation. He did NOT look nor sound 'Indiany' in the least and painting Curtis brown (yes, they actually DID this) and his non-native family didn't make them look like Pima Indians and today such things would be rightfully seen as pretty tacky. The other problem is that the film changed the way Hayes died and de-emphasized that he was destroyed, essentially, from PTSD. Overall, while the story is compelling at times, it also is a bit dishonest in the portrayal of the man's tragic life. Worth seeing, perhaps.
The story is based on Hayes experience as a US Marine during WWII. During the hellish battle of Iwo Jima, he came to fame because he was one of a group of soldiers who raised the American flag on Mount Sirubachi...a scene later imortalized by the Iwo Jima monument outside Arlington Cemetery. His difficulties coping with the ensuing fame and his post-war infamous exploits are detailed in the film.
The most obvious problem with "The Outsider" is the casting. Tony Curtis playes Hayes...even though the real Hayes was an American Indian from the Pima nation. He did NOT look nor sound 'Indiany' in the least and painting Curtis brown (yes, they actually DID this) and his non-native family didn't make them look like Pima Indians and today such things would be rightfully seen as pretty tacky. The other problem is that the film changed the way Hayes died and de-emphasized that he was destroyed, essentially, from PTSD. Overall, while the story is compelling at times, it also is a bit dishonest in the portrayal of the man's tragic life. Worth seeing, perhaps.