Took a friend, US Veteran of the Korean Conflict, to see this movie on Veteran’s Day. He added a lot of insights into the training and action portions of the film. The movie, re-telling of the story of WWII Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Desmond Doss, (Andrew Garfield), who saved 75 men during the battle of Okinawa, without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The first portion of the movie, Doss’s childhood in Virginia, is beautifully filmed, showcasing the scenery of the mountains of that state. Hugo Weaving, as Doss’s alcoholic father and a veteran of WWI delivers an outstanding performance as a man tortured by his own experiences in battle. The second part of the film, boot camp training, followed by battle scenes is reminiscent of “Saving Private Ryan.” Incredibly bloody and grisly. Close ups of men torn apart by shell and grenade. Guts and brains splattered everywhere. Hacksaw Ridge was a battle that was fought atop of a ledge, assumably attainable by scaling a rope net, approximately 100 feet high. The movie never answers the questions: Who placed the rope net? Why didn’t the Japanese simply stand at the top of the ledge and fire down on the Americans as they tried to ascend the rope net? Better, yet, why didn’t the Japanese just cut the net when it was filled with Americans climbing to the top? I guess one would need to read the history of the battle to answer those questions. I haven’t cared much for Garfield, (who to me looks like an Anthony Perkins clone), since the disastrous reboot of Spiderman. But he is able to carry this movie as a humble, devout, open-faced youth, faced with the horrors of war. The build up to this movie seemed to center more on Mel Gibson and whether he had “earned” his forgiveness from Hollywood. Regardless of whatever Mel Gibson is accused of, nobody can say he doesn’t know how to make good movies. I give this movie a 9 out of 10. What do you think?
finch on film 