Hacksaw Ridge

Andrew Garfield turns in a strong performance here as a true-life conscientious objector during WWII who refused to bear arms but who was equally determined to play his part as an army medic. He portrays Desmond Doss, a devout Christian who endures dog’s abuse from his colleagues at boot camp after he accepts the draft but avails himself of a much derided get-out clause regarding avoiding rifles! The scorn he suffers, the violence and resentment he is subjected to doesn’t deter him from completing the course - even to the point when a court martial looms over his head. What is clear from the outset is that he isn’t remotely cowardly, and as he finally sets off to a particularly gruesome theatre of war at the very aptly named “Hacksaw Ridge” he has an opportunity to prove to everyone, including himself, whether he has what it takes. The history robs the film of much in the way of jeopardy, but it also means we don’t have to spend ages building up characters and plot lines, so we can capitalise of this emotive effort from Garfield, as well as a more delicate one from Hugo Weaving as his Great War veteran dad, and from a plethora of powerful supporting roles whilst Mel Gibson, Simon Duggan and Barry Robison plonk us into the middle of a series of scenarios that wreak of authenticity, dirt, grime, mud, blood and shrapnel whilst extolling the virtues and shaming the bigotry that armed conflict presents towards people who are, for what ever reason, less compliant with the accepted rules of the army. As war films go, this ranks amongst the most convincing to watch imbuing a genuine sense of peril and of the true ghastliness of war and courage of not just Doss, here, but of those who fought with weapons more deadly than a backpack full of bandages and opiates. Big screen is best for the full effect of the photography, if you can, but even on a television this is a compellingly told story of a man on a mission that’s well though-provoking on a number of levels and well worth a watch.

I don't want to say that I dislike Mel Gibson as an actor, I mean he's been in plenty of movies that I love... but like Clint Eastwood, he makes a FAR better director than he ever made an actor. Hacksaw Ridge is just one of those films where he does a great job... unfortunately it is Mel Gibson, so it's over-the-top carnage that is not at all underplayed. But you can't fault Gibson for making a Gibson film, you should really know as much coming in. And he actually got Andre Garfield to act, which might not win him a reward, but it certainly should, that is a something that could get a man canonized... and it was his involvement that made me mistakenly put off viewing it for a few years. He seems like a real actor in this, accent and all. And then, of course, it's the story of a pacifist who went to war to save lives... and in the end that's pretty noble by the strictest definition and you feel it though out, which is probably the point... despite the over-the-top carnage.

**A really good movie, which only lacks in some details.** This was not the first war film directed by Mel Gibson. He had previously made at least one military-themed film, “We Were Soldiers”, set in Vietnam. However, it is a film that addresses much more human and intimate themes, in my opinion, by following the Doss family, a family from rural Virginia, and the trajectory of one of their children, Desmond. Son of an extraordinarily devout mother, raised an Adventist, Desmond learns as a child to deny violence (the film shows a fight between brothers that could have ended very badly, but in real life it was a fight between Desmond's father and his brother-in-law) and to strictly follow his faith and religion. When the US joins the Allies in World War II, the brothers decide to enlist, but Desmond insists on doing so on his own terms, that is, as a combat rescuer, exempt from the use and carrying of any weapon. Of course, the US military isn't going to take this in the best light. The film exposes itself in a somewhat lengthy way and captures our sympathy very well, but despite many people complaining that the first part of the film is slow and tiring, I felt this more in the prolonged combat scenes, despite understanding what led Gibson to detail them so exhaustively. Still, it is necessary to be frank: they are excellent battle scenes, with rich details and a very accentuated degree of rawness. Unfortunately, the dialogues aren't very good, they sound a bit cliché, and it's annoying to see that in a movie with so many qualities. The film also makes efforts to create a romantic subplot around Desmond's first wife, but things don't go well, and the material is frankly poor. In general, Gibson does a good job of directing, although that won't come as a surprise to the most attentive observer. He already has a number of hits in his filmography and, together with Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper, is one of the actors I most like to see in the director's chair. Until now, I never really considered the value of the actors involved in this project. Some I just don't know very well. Andrew Garfield is an example: I've seen him in other works, but the actor never completely convinced me, so I was very impressed with his work here. Sam Worthington also impressed me very well, although he's an actor I recognize more easily, and I've seen him work well in other films. Hugo Weaving is excellent, and Vince Vaughn also deserves praise. Only Teresa Palmer seems to have more difficulty to disentangling herself from the work at hand, perhaps due to the weak material received. Technically, the film has a lot of good things to look at, starting with the reasonably rigorous way in which Gibson seeks to re-enact the combat and war environment, from the recruiting camp to the field. Unlike many films from his past, where the director trampled on historical truth, he seems to make sincere efforts to respect it here. The visual and special effects are really very good, and the CGI used is truly excellent and gives the film a remarkable realism, especially in the combat scenes. The sets are interesting and the costumes too. I especially liked the old uniform that Weaving wears in a brief scene, given the difference with the uniforms in use at the time. The cinematography takes advantage of all this and more, and the camera moves intelligently, putting us in the fight, making us suffer with those soldiers, and feel what they felt, what Gregson's soundtrack -Williams accentuates even more.