Hacksaw Ridge is Mel Gibson’s Passion for War
In a very general sense, we have plenty of religiously themed movies like Mel Gibson’s HACKSAW RIDGE. Angelina Jolie’s UNBROKEN is only a recent example. At the same time, we do need more movies that dare depict characters with religious conviction that go against the grain of escalating violence. Stories like this should not be limited to the historical war genre. Mainly because war movies made by people who are fascinated by the violence of the Christian passion will tend to glorify war no matter what the hero has to say about it.
Andrew Garfield is entirely believable and has an impeccable performance considering the lightness of the first half and the sweltering war of the second half. He smiles a little too much, on his first date, and he chuckles, in the faces of the serious men trying to train him as a killer; it drives them crazy with fear and confusion, so naturally, a few of them beat him up. The holy fool is based on the true story of Desmond T. Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist and army medic who served in Okinawa. He won the Medal of Honor for saving 75 men without firing any gun.
Most Mel Gibson movies include a dead wife for motivation of the hero. No such luck here, but the mean old military men prevent Doss from making it to his wedding day, only because he did not satisfactorily complete his rifle training, which is pretty mean.
The roles of Vince Vaughn as his sergeant and Hugo Weaving as Desmond’s father have no small challenge. The cruel sergeant and the alcoholic, violent father often get thrown down the scapegoat path by many narratives. Gibson allows them both to come around in the story, and both actors get to play with more depth of character.
By the time Desmond gets to know fellow soldier Smitty, played by Luke Bracey, and his captain played by Sam Worthington, doesn’t the holy fool effect punch us in the face with violence of cliché? Desmond Doss was an extraordinary man for his conviction, and these three fellow soldiers were totally wrong about him. But they don’t really discuss the merits of faith or nonviolence. They appreciate his conviction only as applied to his work ethic, in a very cleanly narrated way, because he helped fellow soldiers.
There is not much here about the absurdity of war as expressed by thinking beings…however…
Maybe Gibson was saving the hell and absurdity of war to be stated by the battle scenes, impressing us with exploding bodies and rapid cutting that reminds us of D-Day in some other famous war movie about saving someone….
The cold brutality is also suffering from attention deficit disorder. Movie critics tend to make sure you know that they know that they think the war scenes are pretty awesome so you can get some bang for your movie going buck. But there’s not much war strategy or history here.
When the brutality is over, after most of the soldiers retreated, Doss prays in confusion and frustration. He hears a cry of a soldier, and stays to help the injured. He stays while the artillery shells are still raining down on the ridge, dragging men back to the edge and lowering them one by one down to safety. He helps enemy soldiers too. This is truly inspiring, selfless heroism that cannot be denied…however… (
Something must be said about the ridiculous scene of the injured Vaughn riding on a blanket, being pulled by Garfield. That is some impressive stunt rigging, but totally cartoonish, like Rambo crossed with Looney Tunes cartoonish.)
When the shell-shocked Doss descends from the ridge like Moses, it is time for insights and reflection. But they just regroup for more action.
On the second wave of the attack, they ask Doss to pray for them. They wait, solemnly; he finishes, solemnly; they are swelled with pride and determination – as if under the solemn miracle power of his prayer and God himself. You can tell by their swelled faces and tighter lips (the solemn-face).
Now, the killing machine is blessed with God-power, everyone fights in slow motion, no one misses! The music impels them gloriously forward! And the enemy leader is going to commit seppuku in his dark, shameful tunnel! The non-violent convictions of our best Americans, and religion itself, are means to an end of total war and glorious victory, at least in this story.
I can be more fair, because the movie ends with some documentary footage of Doss and his friends and family. Movies in the American style always celebrate people before they celebrate any ideas. But this is all the more reason to improve ourselves as people with some improved ideas.
