The Guardian (2006 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Guardian
The poster for the film.
Directed by	Andrew Davis
Produced by	Armyan Bernstein Lowell D. Blank Zanne Devine Beau Flynn Charlie Lyons Peter Macgregor-Scott Tripp Vinson
Written by	Ron L. Brinkerhoff
Starring	Kevin Costner Ashton Kutcher
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Cinematography	Stephen St. John
Editing by	Thomas J. Nordberg Dennis Virkler
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures Beacon Communications
Release date(s)	September 29, 2006
Running time	136 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Guardian is a 2006 film starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher that was released on September 29, 2006. The film was directed by Andrew Davis, and other cast members include Omari Hardwick and Melissa Sagemiller. The setting for the film is the United States Coast Guard and their Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 "Never Let Go"
4 Soundtrack
5 Trivia
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The plot follows Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) and Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) Program. Ben Randall is the top rescue swimmer who continues to work against regulation past the age of 40. Jake Fischer is a hot-shot candidate for AST who was ranked as a top competitive swimmer in high school. The movie title is introduced by a mythic tale: People lost at sea often claim they feel a presence lifting them to the surface, breathing life into their bodies while they are waiting for help to arrive. They call this presence "The Guardian".

Randall, who has been juggling his home life and work as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, is confronted by his wife asking for a separation. During the argument, he receives a page for an immediate rescue. Out at sea he loses his rescue team in a helicopter accident, and while waiting in a survival raft, his best friend passes away due to the cold and shock. Shaken, he is assigned to teach at a Coast Guard training school to recompose. Here, Jake Fischer arrives as a hopeful AST candidate at the academy. Randall is considered a legend with an estimated 200–300 saves. Ben Randall goes against protocol as an instructor and teaches as he wills, while Fischer is the usual arrogant, but good-hearted student. During the training, Fischer meets a local schoolteacher, Emily Thomas, and begins a "casual" relationship, as they both know his time there is limited. Once the initial, grueling weeks of training are over, and more than half of the students dropped (the school's Commandant almost boasts of an attrition rate of more than 50%), detailed instruction begins at the academy. Meeting Emily in a bar, Jake rants about beating all of his instructor Ben Randall's records. However, the barkeep, an old friend of Randall's, tells Jake of an unbreakable record. On a rescue at a ship fire, Ben worked tirelessly to save all the victims. With one man left and a broken winch, Randall held the man by his fingertips for the entire flight to land, resulting in extensive injuries to his hand and shoulder; a record that could never be broken. After sleeping at his girlfriend’s house, Fischer arrives late to class and is confronted by the waiting Randall. Unusually, Fischer is punished but not dropped. During instruction another student is unable to cope with panicked victims in the water, so Fischer takes him out for a drink before his supposed date. After ending up in a Navy bar, a fight breaks out and they land in jail, leaving Jake's girlfriend stood up. Fischer arrives back at base beaten and bandaged where he takes blame entirely. Randall confronts Fischer as to why he left his prospects as a competitive swimmer to join the AST program, and tells Jake what he learned about Jake's past: on a late night out, Jake, the designated driver, got into an accidental automobile crash, resulting in the deaths of his high school relay team. After a moment of sorrow, Randall and Fischer share common ground, they both knew how it felt like to be the only survivor. Fischer asks what Randall’s real number of saves is; no answer is given. Instruction is nearing completion and Fischer takes to the role of leader during exercises. At graduation only a small percentage of the original candidates remain. Emily arrives, seeing him for the first time since the bar fight. They say their goodbyes.

Jake is assigned to CG Air Station Kodiak, Alaska for protection of the Bering Sea, Randall’s old post. On a mission together they are sent to rescue two kayakers. Fischer enters the cave and lights a flare. This brings back painful memories as Ben flashes back to his crew's disaster. After rescuing the first victim Fischer returns to find Randall locked up unable to move. Randall's victim had hit a log and had a head laceration, which reminded him of the night he lost his crew. Jake continues to rescue both the second victim and Ben. At this point Randall realizes he cannot continue. Against his commander's wishes he retires. Jake again asks Ben what "the number is." "22" is the answer, the number of people Randall couldn't save, the only number he counts. Finding his wife’s house, Ben goes in to apologize. He gives her the divorce papers and his wedding ring while they both act remorseful. Ben reveals that he has retired and slowly makes his way out. Ben returns to station to clear his office when he hears the radio chatter of a rescuer needed. Fischer is to be sent to rescue five sailors trapped on a sinking vessel. Four seamen are rescued while the ship's captain is trapped in the hull. While Jake refuses to leave the captain, the chopper leaves to refuel. Finally freeing the captain, the door to the room is sealed shut by water and debris. Trapped in the room the hull begins to fill with seawater. Ben Randall is the only rescue swimmer available. He promptly begins to gather his gear. On scene Ben is lowered onto the vessel. Getting snagged on the mast he is forced to unhook and climb down. At this point Jake has very little breathing room. Finding the sealed door, the water is released and Fischer is freed. The captain unfortunately has died. Back on deck they both hook to the rescue cable. Halfway up, the winch jams and the cable begins to unravel. Ben, realizing it can't hold both of them, unhooks and tries to fall. Jake catches and will not let him go, holding onto him by his glove simply saying, "I won't let go." Ben understandingly says, "I know" and unstraps his glove, plummeting from a fatal height into the ocean. Desperate to go in, Fischer is not allowed, as the altitude is too great and the only cable is broken. The spotlights never see Randall resurface.

After Ben Randall's service Jake Fischer begins to narrate. He says some believe Ben swam to a far off island where he can be found on a beach casting for fish. But Jake knows where he is. Two weeks later, Jake is again sent to rescue a man. Upon retrieval the victim keeps asking where the other man is, "there was a man down there with me, holding me." Someone helped him, staying with him until help came. Jake attributes this to Ben's presence and considers Ben to be immortalized as "The Guardian", an eternal helping hand for those who are lost. Jake Fischer then shows up while Emily is teaching, saying, "I lied to you, I'm no good at 'casual'.

[edit] Cast

Kevin Costner — Ben Randall
Ashton Kutcher — Jake Fischer
Neal McDonough — Jack Skinner
Melissa Sagemiller — Emily Thomas
Clancy Brown — Captain William Hadley
Brian Geraghty — Billy Hodge
Sela Ward — Helen Randall
Omari Hardwick — Carl Billings
Michael Rady — Zingaro
Peter Gail — Danny Doran
Shelby Fenner — Cate Lindsey
Damon Lipari — Bennett/ Damon Bennett
Bonnie Bramlett — Maggie McGlone
John Heard — Capt. Frank Larson
Dulé Hill — Ken Weatherly
Joe Arquette — Co-Pilot Antunez
Andrew Schanno — Pilot Henry Mitchell

[edit] "Never Let Go"

The major theme throughout the film is the idea of letting go. Taking many forms, this idea is both physically and figuratively illustrated. The first mention of this idea is in the opening, where Randall is trying to save the husband and wife. As the husband tries to grab ahold of the basket, Randall can be heard saying 'Let Go'. The idea reappears for a second time when Randall's wife looks at him and begs her to 'let her go', a referance to her leaving him. The irony is that neither character can really 'let go' of the other, evidenced after the Helicopter crash and Randall's death. Figuratively, 'Letting Go' is illustrated by the tale of Randall's heroism holding onto the man during the Helicopter flight to safety. Fischer re-creates the same scenerio during the final, climactic rescue, only to have Randall undo his glove and fall to his death. Randall is also forced to 'Let Go' of his career after a PTSD attack during a rescue. An irony here is that Randall is called back into service the same day to rescue Fischer.

[edit] Soundtrack

"Never Let Go", Bryan Adams^[1]

[edit] Trivia

Many of the supporting actors, including ASTC instructors, helicopter pilots, and support personnel, are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel.
The mishap where Randall loses his crew is loosely based on an actual U.S. Coast Guard aviation mishap in Alaska. The aircraft was a HH-3F Pelican (U.S.C.G. version of the Sea King), instead of the HH-60J Jayhawk (U.S.C.G. version of the Blackhawk/Seahawk) pictured in the movie.[1]
The production company hired local contractors to build a massive indoor wave pool for production.
Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States in 2005, production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Some of the "base" scenes were filmed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana.
The film was revised after Hurricane Katrina, with the addition of several comments on the storm and the rescues following. The end credits are replete with "glory" shots of U.S. Coast Guard helicopters conducting rescues in the greater New Orleans area. The DVD contains a special feature on U.S. Coast Guard rescue operations, especially in the aftermath of Katrina.
Some of the scenes that were supposed to be filmed in Kodiak, Alaska were filmed at CG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina instead. 60,000 pounds of ice were needed on the set.
One of the students was Mark Gangloff. He was an Olympic swimmer who received a gold medal in the Athens Olympic Games.
Both of the film's stars, Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, are members of the same college fraternity, Delta Chi.
The Guardian was one of two Ashton Kutcher films to open on September 29, 2006, the other being Open Season.
Clancy Brown "reprises" his role in The Guardian as another "Captain Hadley" — in the movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption, Brown played the chief of the prison's guards as Captain Byron Hadley.
When Randall reveals to Fischer that he knows about the car accident that killed his high school swim team, the name of the newspaper appears to be the Cedar Rapids Chronicle. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is Kutcher's actual hometown; however, the local newspaper is called the Cedar Rapids Gazette.