Hacksaw Ridge Review

     Hacksaw Ridge is directed by Mel Gibson and stars Andrew Garfield. It tells the true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in WWII.

     Early on the film establishes Doss' aversion to violence, a theme further expounded on later on. The main conflict involves his reluctance to use (or even pick up) a weapon despite the fact that he has joined the army. His senior officers and fellow soldiers all give him a hard time, considering him to be a liability in battle. Finally he is court marshaled after refusing a direct order to fire a weapon. The film also deals with the romance between him and Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer), his conflict with his father (Hugo Weaving) a world weary WWI vet, and his actions during the Battle of Okinawa, for which he was awarded the Medal Of Honor.

     Hacksaw Ridge is fairly historically accurate for a Hollywood film (particularly one helmed by Gibson). Doss did have an experience with his father that served as an impetus for his aversion to violence though the details of the incident are quite different than what the movie portrays. He was indeed picked on by his fellow soldiers for his refusal to carry a weapon, as well as his refusal to work on the Sabbath. It's also true that his commanding officer tried to have him discharged, though it is more dramatized in the film and the part where his father intervenes is taken from another, more minor incident. The actions for which Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor, staying behind on Hacksaw Ridge after his regiment retreated to eventually save 75 wounded men, are accurately portrayed. The movie also depicts his being wounded by a hand grenade, which he kicks out of the way to save some of his comrades. On the other hand, the scene where Desmond misses his wedding with Dorothy because of the Court Marshal never happened, as they where married before he was drafted. He was often denied furloughs and couldn't see her much during his training. The movie also leaves out Doss' earlier service in Guam and the Philippines, for which he was awarded two silver stars, along with his being wounded by a Japanese sniper on Hacksaw.

     Hacksaw Ridge is well directed by Gibson. Like most of his films it's very emotionally charged. One scene in particular choked me up a little. The early scenes are appropriately sentimental and the war scenes harrowingly violent. The score, by Harry Gregson Williams, is very effective. It may not be as memorable as James Horner's Braveheart score but in a more realistic film like this I think the score should produce more of general mood or feeling or it might become a distraction. Andrew Garfield does a good job in the lead role and most of the supporting actors put in fine performances as well. Hugo Weaving is easily the stand out as Desmond's drunken, somewhat abusive father, Tom. He really adds a lot of humanity to the role.

     Vince Vaughn, on the other hand, feels miscast as Doss' platoon sergeant. He works alright for the training sequences but as soon as the bullets starts flying he feels out of place. The film's other major flaw is Gibson's tendency to Hollywood-ize the action. In one scene a soldier picks a a dead body and uses it as a shield while he assaults an enemy position. In another Doss pulls Sgt. Howell to safety on his shelter half while the Sergeant uses his sub machine gun to hold off pursuing Japs.

     Hacksaw Ridge, like most of Gibson's films, has its flaws. But despite the liberties it takes with history it still manages to capture the essence of Doss' story. If this is Gibson's bid at redemption (public image wise) he could certainly do worse.

Score: 8.5/10

My Favorite Films: The Outlaw Josey Wales (Western Wednesdays)

     The really great thing about Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is the writing. Adapted from Forest Carter's novel, The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales, Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman's screenplay explores themes of revenge, redemption, and the cost of war. It also contains a lot of great dialogue, in fact, this film is probably the most quotable western ever.

"A man like Wales lives by the feud."

     When Missouri farmer Josey Wale's (Eastwood) family is killed by pro-Union militants from Kansas lead by Captain "Red Legs" Terrill (Bill McKinney) his world falls apart. By joining "Bloody Bill" Anderson's (John Russell) gang of Confederate raiders, Wales finds an outlet for his hatred and his sole purpose becomes vengeance. When the war ends and the Confederates surrender, Wales is the only one not to. Having lived with violence for many years he no longer knows anything else and can't bring himself to surrender to the enemy he has hated and fought against for so long. When the rest of the men are executed, his worst fears are confirmed and he becomes a fugitive and an outlaw. Still, he no longer really has a cause to fight for. Jamie (Sam Bottoms), the only survivor, though mortally wounded, becomes his companion. Wales tries to avoid his pursuers and keep Jamie alive. He also promises that they will get revenge on their former leader, Fletcher (John Vernon), for turning on them. When Jamie dies, Josey is again left without a sense of purpose.

"Endeavor to persevere."

     To escape the blue coat soldiers, Wales then heads for the Mexican border. Along the way he meets and befriends  Lone Watie (Chief Dan George), an old Cherokee Indian, Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams), a young Navajo woman, Sarah (Paula Trueman) an old Kansas Jayhawker and her daughter Laura Lee (Sondra Locke).  All of them, like Wales himself, are outcasts or become outcasts by the end of the film. Lone Watie is, in some ways, a reflection of Wales. Both men have had their worlds effectively taken away by agents of the U.S. government. But while Wales committed violence to seek vengeance Lone Watie did it as a matter of survival.

"He might as well ride along with us. Hell, everybody else is."

     As more people begin riding with Josey he becomes a sort of surrogate father to them, albeit reluctantly. At this point in the film, Wales is rather directionless. He's no longer really seeking vengeance and is only occupied with the immediate problem of escaping the Union soldiers. At the same time he's afraid to form any attachments to his newfound companions because as he tells Lone Watie, "When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long." When they finally reach the Jayhawkers farm in Texas they face a new problem, the hostile Comanche Indians lead by chief Ten Bears (Will Sampson). As they prepare for a fight, Wales rides out to meet Ten Bears, determined to either make peace or die protecting his new friends. Ultimately he shows Ten Bears that there is no need for fighting and the Chief makes Wales a blood brother. This is the moment where I think Wales really leaves vengeance behind.

"I reckon so."

     Despite this he is still restless. He knows that Terrill and the red legs will catch up with him eventually. As he cannot bear bear to risk losing those he loves again he decides it is best to leave them. In classic western fashion he tells Lone Waite, "Sometimes trouble just follows a man". Before he can leave Terrill and his men arrive, forcing a confrontation. With the help of his companions, Wales finally subdues them. Then he comes face to face with Fletcher, the man he believes betrayed him. In a subtle twist the two men, pretending not to recognize each other engage in one of my favorite exchanges of dialogue from any film.
Fletcher, "I think I'll go down to Mexico to try to find him."
Josey, "And then?"
Fletcher, "He's got the first move. I owe him that. I think I'll try to tell him the war is over. What do you say, Mr. Wilson?"
Josey, "I reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damn war."

"... men can live together without butcherin' one another."

     In many ways The Outlaw Josey Wales was a response to the war in Vietnam. Eastwood was concerned over the great sense of divisiveness left in the country after the war. He hoped that making a film about people overcoming their prejudices in the post-Civil War era would have a cathartic effect in his own time. This can be seen especially in the exchanges between Josey Wales and the old woman Sarah, who's son fought in the war on the Union side. Both come to respect one another. It can also be seen in the exchange between Josey and Ten Bears, where he tells him, "Dying's not hard for you and me. It's living that's hard when all you ever cared about has been butchered or raped."

     Of course the script is not the only great thing about The Outlaw Josey Wales. Eastwood's deliberate direction is excellent. He really takes time to make you care about these characters and understand this world. The acting is stellar all around, even the bit roles are very memorable. Eastwood is his usual laconic self. John Vernon is great as the world weary Fletcher and Bill McKinney's Terrill is appropriately loathsome. But the real standout performance is Chief Dan George's Lone Watie. According to Eastwood, George had trouble memorizing his lines so Clint would tell him the gist of what he was supposed to say in any given scene and let him say it in his own words. The results speak for themselves. Finally, the score, by Jerry Fielding, is fairly effective, evoking Civil War era marching tunes and folks songs.

    With an awesome screenplay from Kaufman and Chernus, assured direction from Eastwood, and solid performances all around, The Outlaw Josey Wales is one of the last true masterpieces of the western genre. Every time I watch it I discover new layers and subtle visual motifs I hadn't noticed before. It's one of those films that gets better and better with age.

Temporary Leave of Absence

 

    
     You may have noticed that I have not posted anything in two weeks. The reason for this is that I've been busy with school, work and helping my brother with his youtube fan series. As a result of this I've decided to take a break from blogging for a while. Hopefully I'll pick it up again by the end of November. If not I'll let you guys know.
Thanks for reading and I see you guys in a month or so!

Western Wednesdays: The Magnificent Seven

     The Magnificent Seven is directed by Antoine Fuque, It is a remake of the 1960 film of the same name (which itself is a loose remake of the 1954 classic Seven Samurai). It stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke. It tells the story of seven gun men who are hired by poor villagers to defend them against a gang of bandits.

     The plot of Seven Samurai has been re-used so many times it begs the question: why remake it again? What, if anything, does this film have to offer that previous retellings don't? For one thing the social commentary, which deeply informed Samurai and was brushed over in favor of more traditional western tropes in the original Magnificent Seven, is more pronounced this time around. That is to say, it's less subtle and, as a result, the film is more broadly appealing. That can be said of this film generally. It's more mainstream and, while it's to the films credit that it retains some of the social themes of Seven Samurai, it's also, unfortunately, more action driven and less character driven. This isn't a crippling flaw. There's still enough character development to make you care about what's going on, but it is disappointing, especially considering the quality of some of Fuque's earlier films. There's also a third act reveal about one of the characters motives that I didn't really care for.

     The movie features solid performances, especially from Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke though Chris Pratt's a bit of a weak spot and can't help but feel a little out-of-place in a period piece. The action is fun and fairly coherent, though nothing amazing. There are nods to the original, which are appropriately subtle and well integrated into the film. Overall The Magnificent Seven is a pretty fun little western.

     In my review of Jane Got a Gun I noted that it was somewhat old school in the way it was shot and edited. I can't really same the same for this movie. It's much more frantically edited and uses hand held camera work most of the time. For most of the runtime it looked as if the movie would avoid any noticeable use of CGI. If only it ended sixty seconds sooner.

Score: 8/10

Deepwater Horizon Short Review

     Deepwater Horizon is directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) and stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, and Gina Rodriguez. It tells the story of the April 2010 explosion of the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, which lead (according to the film) to the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

     I didn't have a lot to say after watching this film. However I stumbled on some behind-the-scenes drama that I found really interesting. BP, the oil company who rented Deepwater created a lot of legal issues for Peter Berg and the rest of the people involved. For one thing they we're prevented from renting an existing oil rig and had to build one themselves. There were also details about the incident that they were prevented from portraying in the film. In an interview Berg said "we had a scene that might have suggested that workers were under pressure to say the rig was safe because BP managers wanted to move on to another oil well. It was 100% true and very well documented, but the lawyers were concerned it was making BP look too responsible for the blowout." One of the biggest arguments was about the cement poured into the well to control it's pressure. BP sent the team who were supposed to test the cement home before they could test it. This is considered to be a major factor in the incident but the writers had to be very careful about how they portrayed it in order to avoid a lawsuit form the subcontractor who poured the cement or the company that failed to perform the test.

     As fascinating as (I think) some of this behind-the-scenes drama is, it doesn't speak much to the quality of the film itself. Berg's direction is solid. He really knows how to make a biting thriller and the down-to-earth script helps to place the viewer in the middle of the events. The movie does a good job setting up the main characters and making them sympathetic, if not all that nuanced, and the cast does a really good job all around, especially Walhberg. My only real complaint, besides the lack of character development, which is mitigated somewhat by the strength of the performances, is that the film feels a little too conventionally Hollywood at times. There is a lot of (not so subtle) foreshadowing which seems somewhat unsuitable for a more realistic movie like this. There are also a few over-the-top moments in the climax that strain credulity a little. But these are fairly minor issues.

     Many have criticized Deepwater Horizon for its apparent lack of conviction in taking a stronger stance against BP and the oil industry which is somewhat ironic given that BP seems to have the opposite stance. I think that, given the circumstances, Berg and his crew did the best they could. The real point of the film is to highlight the heroic actions and sacrifices of the workingmen on board the rig. Honoring the common man seems to be an emerging pattern in Berg's films. Lone Survivor paid tribute to the infantry soldier and the upcoming Patriots Day looks like it may do the same for police officers. In the end, I'm just glad that this film has elements that are worthy of serious discussion. If your tired of disaster movies like San Andreas or Independence Day: Resurgence, Deepwater Horizon will seem like a breath of fresh air.

Score: 9/10

(If anyone wants to learn more about this film and the events that inspired it I think the article I quoted above, The 'well from hell' – my fight with BP to film Deepwater Horizon, would be a good place to start.)

Western Wednesdays: Jane Got a Gun

When Jane Got a Gun was released in theaters earlier this year I was mildly interested in seeing it. When it got mediocre reviews it faded into the woodwork and (almost) out of my interest. Then Stephen King made a tweet in February praising it which stoked my interest once again. Finally, when it was added to Netflix last month, I decided to watch it one night on a whim...

     Jane Got a Gun is directed by Gavin O'Connor. It tells the story of Jane Hammond (Natalia Portman), who must defend her home from a gang of criminals (led by Ewan McGregor's John Bishop) who are after her husband, Bill (Noah Emmerich). After taking her daughter to a neighbor's house for safe keeping she goes to an old friend, Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton), for help. As they wait for the bandits to arrive tensions run high and the details of their past are revealed.

     What I like about this film is that it's surprisingly old school. It's fairly slow paced and uses more longer takes and wide shots than most contemporary films do. It also has a fairly straight-forward story. As a result of this it's rather predictable. I wouldn't mind this so much except for the fact that much of the story is told in flashbacks. Because these flashbacks don't reveal anything that I can't infer myself they become rather dull and uninteresting. I would have much preferred for the film to give me less explicit information and instead focus on the here and now of the story and the relationships between the characters. In addition, the ending of the film feels really trite, especially considering how dark the film is up to that point.

     This film had a very troubled production history. It was originally going to be directed by Lynne Ramsey (We Need to Talk About Kevin) but she left after a disagreement with the producer. Gavin O'Conner was then brought on to replace her and Edgerton (who was originally slated to play the villain) worked on revising the as-yet unfinished script. The film release was subsequently delayed by 3 years. Whether or not Ramsey would have made a better film is something we'll never know but she almost certainly would have made a more interesting one. In the end though, Jane Got a Gun is, at least, a serviceable western, if not particularly remarkable one. Considering the current dearth of films in the genre of late that's good enough for me.

Score: 7/10

The Jungle Book In-depth Review

The Jungle Book is one of my favorite films of 2016 so far. Since it was released on home video recently I was able to re-watch it and I liked it even more the second time around....

     In my initial review I noted that Mowgli makes a decision which ends up having terrible consequences. I was referring to the scene where Mowgli takes the "red flower" (the jungle creatures name for fire) from the man-village to fight Shere Khan, only to cause a massive fire in the jungle. At the time, I was of the opinion that this did not carry enough weight but I have since changed my mind. The film, in many ways, is a coming-of-age tale. In it Mowgli must embrace his "otherness" and make his own way. In the first act, Akela and Bagheera discourage Mowgli from using his rather human innovations. But when he meets Baloo in the second act, Baloo encourages him to use his ingenuity. He does this for selfish reasons (he wants Mowgli to get honey for him), but by helping Baloo Mowgli begins to learn how useful his innovations really are. Bagheera himself sees this in a crucial scene where Mowgli helps to rescue a baby elephant (a species treated with religious reverence by the other animals of the jungle) from drowning using some vines.
   

     The red flower (the animal word for fire) is portrayed as the ultimate human invention, one which can bring death and destruction to the Jungle. It was fire that burned Shere Khan when he killed Mowgli's father, causing him to seek revenge against Mowgli. He sees fire as the thing which most separates humans from animals. King Louie, the king of the apes, also sees the powerful potential in being able to wield the red flower, causing him to kidnap Mowgli in hopes that he can help him achieve this power. When Mowgli takes the torch from the village he is only thinking of getting revenge on Shere Khan for killing Akela. When he sees the Jungle burning and the other animals shrinking away from him in fear he realizes the gravity of what he has done and the implications of wielding this kind of power. By facing Shere Khan on his own, using his wits and knowledge, and subsequently, by bringing the elephants to put out the fire, Mowgli takes his fate into his own hands for the first time and is able to accepts his "otherness" as a human living among animals.

     I also mentioned in my initial review that I had not read Rudyard Kipling's stories prior to watching the film but was inspired to do so as a result. I have since read all of Kipling's Mowgli stories which, I think, enriched my experience when re-watching the film. The original stories are definitely darker and more violent. When Mowgli kills Shere Khan, for instance, he does so by luring him into a stampede where he is trampled to death and then proceeds to remove his hide, which he wears as a trophy. With that said this film is still closer to the books than the animated film was. In that film Mowgli returns to the village at the end. In the book he does not do this until after spending many years in the jungle. However, as in the animated film, Baloo is more of a lazy scam artist than the old master hunter of the books and Kaa has only a short, antagonistic role, while in the book he becomes an ally of Mowgli. In the end this film feels like a nice middle ground between the books and the animated version.

     The Jungle Book is a really solid story about growing up and accepting responsibility. It's also a highly entertaining adventure and an unusually smart family film. It's my favorite film of 2016 so far.

Updated Score: 10/10