Review of Hacksaw Ridge (2016) by Jeff B — 17 Jul 2017

Charging forth with a pacifist war story that's anything but passive, director Mel Gibson channels the vicious punch and visceral panache of some vaulted war films from H'Wood's past in telling the story of one very Brave Heart who's Passion for the Christ found him sticking to his religious, er, guns during one of World War II's deadliest skirmishes.

In this R-rated war movie, pacifist WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield) refuses to kill people during the Battle of Okinawa and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot. Sporting a hard R rating, the film unapologetically pains a very bloody picture. Ironically and unsurprisingly skewing more toward the War is Hell mantra (made famous as the memoir title of another unlikely WWII underdog hero, Audie Murphy) than, say, one that proselytizes Peace is Heaven, this film's title says everything about its tone: Hacksaw Ridge. The ironic part arises from the fact that it's a story about pacifist convictions. The unsurprising part stems from the fact that it comes courtesy of a man made iconic by ultra-violent actioner Lethal Weapon, an artist who (kinda, sorta) also made 'historic' filmic violence iconic with Braveheart. To this end, there's two reasons why it wasn't titled The Desmond Doss Story. Due to the extreme but strategic use of violence, he film proves both a thoughtful rumination on the duality of man that's as much a statement by Gibson as Doss. For better and worse, Gibson zeroes in on two flicks for inspiration: Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan (All Quiet on the Western Front doubtlessly is another but many will miss the connection given that, at 87 years old, that film as a cultural touchstone has timed out for anybody but film historians). The better? Hacksaw Ridge comes way closer than most to equaling the gut punch realism of these modern war classics, serving up a demoralizing boot camp segment that would make Jacket's R. Lee Emery's Drill Sgt. proud (Vince Vaughn, in a surprising but rewarding casting choice, believably doles out the vitriol) and setting the second half in an embattled Pacific warzone (amphibious landing, body count, jettisoned limbs, and all) that sometimes looks like Ryan Normandy Beach scenes picked up from the cutting room floor. The worse? The telltale stylistic beats 'borrowed' from these films can't be missed. Still, if Gibson hadn't already earned a place as a vaunted director with Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, Hacksaw Ridge almost ensures him entry. The most expensive independent movie of all time (in his heyday, Gibson could get a Mother Theresa snuff film financed with one phone call but, post 2010 public meltdown amid a fickle film industry, he had to piece together financiers like a Shark Tank contestant) delivers a remarkable and well-shot true story.

Sticking to your guns - even when sticking to your guns specifically involves sticking to no guns - becomes more than a religious argument. It sets fire to a contentious conversation about a public trying to peacefully go about their day despite mass shootings being an almost weekly occurrence. Destined for Direct-to-Video status after The Amazing Spider-Man series toppled into oblivion, Andrew Garfield gives a layered and nuanced performance. It's not enough that he believably embodies the belief system of Desmond Doss's pacifist, he also looks and acts every bit like the simple - though not simpleton - farmer. As he's proven with Apocalypto and every film he's directed involving armed conflict (and, saved for Man Without a Face, they all do), Gibson puts forth a contemplative message saying peace is better than war but, ultimately, violence as an ends-to-a-means is often unavoidable ...or so it seems. Perhaps, the title of Lethal Weapon was simply hailing the coming of a cinematic realist.

To Sum it Up: Soldier of Good Fortune.