Hacksaw Ridge

Released: November 2016

Director: Mel Gibson

Rated R

Run Time: 139 Minutes

Genre: War/Drama

Distributor: Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate Studios

Cast:
Andrew Garfield: Desmond Doss
Sam Worthington: Captain Glover
Luke Bracey: Smitty Ryker
Hugo Weaving: Tom Doss
Teresa Palmer: Dorothy Schutte
Rachel Griffiths: Bertha Doss
Vince Vaughan: Sgt. Howell

History books often show most major events in human history with a “big picture” mentality.  That means that history books look at events like World War I or II as an entirety.  The thing is, is that these “bigger pictures” are often made up many more “smaller pictures.”  How I define a smaller picture in the grand scheme of a major world war is that there are smaller things that happen during the course of the war or event that are just as important as the final outcome of the battle.  While these “minor” events may not figure heavily into the final outcome, they are nevertheless very important to some people.  Sometimes these smaller events are more important to some people than the bigger picture.  Sometimes it can come down to just one man who can make a difference, not necessarily for the world, but for the people around him or her.  Sometimes, people forget that a handful of soldiers or even just one, can make the difference between victory or defeat.

Hacksaw Ridge begins its story in Virginia where young Desmond Doss sees another young man get pinned underneath a car.  He runs out to help him and gets him to a hospital where Desmond meets a lovely nurse, Dorothy Schutte.  After taking her out on a date, Desmond enlists in the US Army.  However, being a Seventh Day Adventist, he cannot hold a weapon or take another life, so he enlists as a medic, where he believes he will do the most good.  This doesn’t sit well with his superiors and they try to run him out of the army for his religious convictions.  When I first previewed this movie last year, I had to do research on Desmond Doss, as this film is based on Desmond’s experiences in the war.  This is one of those “smaller picture” events that I was alluding to in the paragraph above.  This was not something I was aware of when I was taking history in high school and college.  It’s not one of those things that everybody knew about and yet it was one of the most compelling events during the war.  The story is extraordinary, not just in the battle that takes place in Okinawa, but also the battle between the army and Desmond Doss.  The first hour of the movie is basically introducing Desmond and his conflict with the Army.  Ultimately, he was allowed to serve without using a weapon.  During the course of the battle, Doss saved the lives of 75 soldiers.  As a result, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award that anyone can receive.  For me, the story is compelling because it’s about a man who refuses to comprise his convictions.  The film is not about religion, even though it does play a part.  It’s more about faith.  The man’s personal belief in what was right really drives the story, and it is one of the most interesting stories ever told.

A story like this couldn’t be told unless you have the right actors.  This is one of the film’s greatest strengths.  Andrew Garfield is absolutely incredible as Doss.  He plays the character with a great deal of humility and respect and sells the character as someone who has the courage to stand up for what he believes in.  There’s a reason he was nominated for Best Actor.  Teresa Palmer is not just simply stunning as Dorothy Schutte, but her character is Doss’s anchor.  She’s a little feisty, but the character is very warm and charming.  Hugo Weaving is astonishing as Desmond’s father.  You can tell that the character has been through hell, because he fought in World War I, so he doesn’t want to see his kids make the same mistakes that he and his buddies did.  But because of his experience, the character is a drunk, and not necessarily the most pleasant person to be around.  Hugo makes the character sympathetic at times.  He’s not in the movie for very long, but his presence is very much needed.  Sam Worthington is an actor that I actually like.  Is he the greatest?  No.  But he’s definitely made an impression over the years.  In Hacksaw Ridge, we get to see him really flex his acting muscles, and he’s really damned good.  He plays Captain Glover, who at first doesn’t like Doss, but comes to respect him over the course of the film.  Of all the actors in this film, Vince Vaughan was genuinely surprising.  While he does come across as the usual gruff and loud-mouthed drill instructor, the character is far more complex than you would think.  Vaughan’s performance is very surprising considering the actor’s comic background.  Yeah, the acting in this film is really good.

While Hacksaw Ridge is a character drama at its core, it is definitely a war movie.  The first half of the movie is a philosophical war film, so to speak.  The second half of the film is where the real war takes place and like Saving Private Ryan, it’s ugly and terrifying.  Like Ryan, it’s handled very realistically.  You have the big explosions caused by artillery fire, but the detail on the ground is very striking.  People, both Americans and Japanese alike, are torn to shreds.  Limbs are blown off, and people are blown in half.  It’s gruesome.  I love it when movies portray war as realistically as possible, because it shows the audience that it’s not fun and games.  It’s a very real and ugly situation for everybody involved.  Doss’s actions during this particular sequence is nothing short of amazing, and that’s how it actually happened by all accounts.  Hacksaw Ridge is the first movie that Mel Gibson has directed since Apocalypto in 2006.  This man knows his business.  While there is definitely chaos in the film, it’s all filmed so we can see what’s happening, which makes the experience that much more visceral.

As far as war movies go, I would honestly put Hacksaw Ridge right up there with Saving Private Ryan.  It’s that good.  Obviously, some liberties had to be taken during the film, such as Desmond’s near-lethal confrontation with his father that never actually happened, but it added to the tension and it helped us really understand why he never wanted to hold a gun.  I would honestly have to say that this movie was one of the best movies of 2016.  Mel Gibson is in fine form as a director and he really knows how to tell a story.  Hacksaw Ridge gets a very solid recommendation from me.

Final Score: 9.5/10

 

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