Review of Unbroken (2014) by Patrick C — 11 Jun 2015

The story of Louis Zamperini is the finest example of the Greatest Generation mythology. A struggling Italian immigrant, he went from juvenile delinquent to high school track star and eventual Olympian in 1936. He ran the last lap of the 5,000-meter race in world record time which prompted Adolf Hitler to request an audience with him. He joined the Air Force to battle Japan in World War II only to have his aircraft downed in the Pacific Ocean. There Zamperini survived a horrific ordeal at sea which would make legends of most men. But that was only the beginning of his tribulations as his rescuers were the Japanese Navy. His internment as a POW for two years can only be described as brutal and soul-shattering. But he survived to become an inspiration to millions - later in life as a Christian motivational speaker. He carried the Olympic torch in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1998 Winter Games - in Nagano, Japan. Zamperini died at the age of 97 shortly after Anjelina Jolie sat with him in the hospital watching her near-completed film on a laptop.

This is Jolie's second feature. Her first, In the Land of Blood and Honey, was a melodrama set in the Bosnian War. My impression of her interests as a director is that she gravitates to material in which protagonists suffer and survive unimaginable circumstances. The suffering is exquisite. Is she the female Mel Gibson whose work routinely involves torture, death and self-sacrifice? Maybe. But she also has an eye for the beauty in human nature and the power of forgiveness. Zamperini's story is torturous but uplifting. Her next two directorial efforts will include another biopic focusing on the battle to stop ivory poaching in Africa, and a gorgeous 1970's romance in France in which she will star will her husband, Brad Pitt.

Unbroken as a film is quite good if not great. It falls into the usual pitfalls that biopics suffer. Flashbacks and montages have to fill in the details to help develop characters. Jack O'Connell gives a performance that is reactionary and quite similar to Adrien Brody's Oscar-winning turn in The Pianist. O'Connell does a very good job and his star will surely rise on his talent and movie star looks. Sidebar: Jolie also likes to cast beautiful men to play her beautiful spirits. Jai Courtney, Garrett Hedlund, American Horror Story's Finn Wittrock and O'Connell have to be the best looking squad of airmen ever assembled. They could have sold pin-up calendars for the USO. Cinematographer Roger Deakins, an 11-time Oscar nominee, is a great second to Jolie and gives the modest production a mega-million look. Somewhat disappointing is the screenplay and dialogue by the likes of Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King), William Nicholson (Gladiator) and the Coen brothers themselves (Fargo; No Country for Old Men). These guys are soaked in Oscar glory but produced nothing particularly special here.

Audiences are in for a grueling sit as this two and a quarter hours feels more like three. But the payoff is emotionally satisfying, and the audience I saw Unbroken with was clearly moved to tears. We shall see if Oscar is moved as much in this highly competitive season.