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Demi Moore stars as Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, the first female candidate for the U.S. Navy SEAL unit, a clandestine strike
force drawn from the crme de la crme of the combined services--an opportunity provided her by the political maneuvering of
Senator Lillian de Haven (Anne Bancroft). To make the grade, Jordan has to survive a grueling selection process in which 60
percent of all candidates wash out. Enigmatic Master Chief John Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen) runs the brutal training program
that involves 20-hour days of running, marching, and crawling through obstacle courses under the worst weather conditions
while carrying landing rafts--not to mention eating out of a garbage can during breaks. Along with the best of the men, the
lean, mean, shaven-headed Jordan handles the punishment, including a bizarrely motivated beating from her drill sergeant.
The top brass, confident that a woman would quickly drop out, becomes concerned as Jordan's ability to handle SEAL training
becomes evident. Soon she must contend with trumped-up charges that she's fraternizing with women, and the senator begins
receiving threats that military bases in her state may have to be closed. Director Ridley Scott aestheticizes the harrowingly
realistic training sequences with photography of austere beauty.
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