After spending nearly
fourteen years in development Hell including the subject himself passing away
in 2006 before producers fought to rescind the material from Christian
financiers aiming for a PG-13 friendly cut, the story of WWII medic and Medal
of Honor winner Desmond Doss (brilliantly played by Andrew Garfield) finally
comes to the screen in director Mel Gibson’s first film in ten years, Hacksaw Ridge. The story of a simple Lynchburg, Virginian
who enlists in the Army during the Second World War who finds himself at the
epicenter of controversy due to his conscientious objection to carrying a
firearm in combat, it’s the story of true patriotism, bravery and heroism lived
out by a man who never once fired a weapon within the front lines. Somewhere between the military camaraderie
depicted in From Here to Eternity and
the gritty combat sequences in Saving
Private Ryan, it’s a touching and captivating story not too many people of
our generation know about and likely served as the inspiration for Forrest Gump’s own scenes of bravery
during the Vietnam War segments. The
question is, will this WWII drama set in the heart of the dreaded Hacksaw Ridge in Okinawa, Japan be
director Mel Gibson’s ticket back into the good graces of Hollywood and
mainstream moviegoers?
The answer is yes and no for
a few reasons. For one, the scale of
Gibson’s war film is decidedly smaller than say Braveheart or Apocalypto and
in between his trademark vistas of slow motion bloodletting and war violence
and ornate camerawork are CGI enhancements that work against the strength of
his images. One shot looks as real and
fully developed as anything in Gibson’s filmography and the next one looks,
well, like what you’d see from most movies released by Summit Entertainment (Twilight; God’s of Egypt). It’s a
shame because the footage shot by Gibson and cinematographer Simon Duggan is
largely splendid and full of scope. The
next problem, though I suppose it’s minor in the scheme of things, is the
casting of Vince Vaughn as a drill sergeant.
As much as I like him as a comic actor and being a semi-decent villain
in True Detective but I didn’t buy
him as an FBI agent in The Cell and
don’t buy him now barking orders at new recruits. That said, Hugo Weaving as Doss’ drunken and
depressed father struggling with his own postwar demons gives one of the finest
performances of his career and truly goes out on a limb making the dad look
pathetic and aged by alcohol. As for
Desmond Doss himself, Andrew Garfield gives the conscientious objector a wholesome
small town American charm with a conviction that comes through stronger than
the Army itself can withstand when faced with a life and death situation while
never compromising his moral values.
This could well have gone
the Christian faith based movie route, which it came dangerously close to
becoming. But in Gibson’s hands it’s a
solid WWII film that features all of the director’s trademarks including the
heavenly choral score by Rupert Gregson-Williams and his own penchant for
graphic violence. Amazingly, considering
Gibson’s previous films seemed to dabble in increasing ultraviolence to the
point where some detractors were quick to dub his images “pornographic”, Hacksaw Ridge shows Gibson at arguably
his most restrained with particular emphasis on a nonviolent approach to
war. It’s the kind of film Clint
Eastwood would have directed had he had the chance. Like Doss himself says during a court
marshaling for refusing to carry a weapon, seeing the world tearing itself
apart with violence can’t help but make him want to ‘give life back’ to the
world through nonviolence and saving the lives of wounded comrades. After being mired in scandals for years that
alienated much of Hollywood and filmgoers alike from giving Mr. Gibson more of
their time and money, Hacksaw Ridge marks
a departure from the director’s usual unrelentingly brutal fare and instead
finds him vying for nonviolence and love while shedding light on the vitality
of the medic in combat and how their work is just as much of a fight as the soldiers
with firearms. While imperfect and not
quite as polished as some of Gibson’s earlier efforts, it’s a refreshing and
positive step in the right direction for him.
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki