Hacksaw Ridge

For years, Mel Gibson was known as something of a lovable weirdo. An actor known for playing somewhat endearing but intense characters in action films and the occasional romantic lead, Gibson also earned credit as a director for his bloody historical epic Braveheart. The film was a box office success and earned Gibson Oscars for directing and Best Picture. And then in 2004, everything seemed to change. In 2004 Gibson released the self-financed and self-directed Passion of the Christ which was criticized by many for anti-Semitic sentiments and an emphasis on violence versus inspiration. Paired with a number of legal incidents including harassment of his spouses including epithets, alcohol abuse, and the harassment of a female police officer. Suddenly the weirdo vibe that had made Gibson interesting was looking less like acting and more like Gibson in real-life. Since then he's kept things quiet, only taking the lead in small movies as amoral or strange characters (Get the Gringo and The Beaver) or big movies as a villain instead of his standard heroic fare (Expendables 3 and Machete Kills). And now somehow, he's managed to get back in the Academy's good graces by going back to the director's chair for Hacksaw Ridge an odd mixture of the faith and warfare films that have defined his director's filmography.

The movie tells the story of Desmond Doss, an American combat medic during World War II. Eager to serve his country and do his duty, Doss volunteers for the Army where his commanding officers make a startling discovery: Doss has no intention of even holding a weapon. Citing his Seventh-day Adventist Christian beliefs, Doss is pacifist conscientious objector and believes he can best serve by saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. However the military brass and the horrors of war will quickly test the would-be medics resolve and courage.

Hacksaw Ridge is a movie I was almost certain I was going to despise. Not because the source material doesn't have merit, it's quite amazing actually, but because of the person telling it. Gibson in another faith-based movie that's inherently full of violence? This sounds like trouble brewing. That's not the say the end result is completely satisfying or maybe even the best approach for the film's true life inspirations, but it's far more affecting than I believed it would-be.

The key reason is that the film isn't trying to trying to sell the audience on the lead character's faith, so much as present how it affects him personally and those around him. There's a plethora of faith based imagery, including a ton of shots of Doss' looking over his Bible, single shining lights in dark places and dark times, and an emphasis on the injuries he sustains to his hands, but it's primarily meant to emphasize Doss' experience.

So how is the film outside of the presentation of faith? It's an odd mixture, that sometimes works. Based on the film's first hour you'd think you were watching a modern melodrama or a fifties inspirational war flick that would star someone like Jimmy Stewart in the lead role as Doss as we learn about the basis of his non-violent approach, see him fall in love, and watch him go through basic training under the eye of suspicious officers and fellow recruits. I was legitimately wondering if years of being viewed as a monster had turned Gibson in a sacchrine puppy dog.

That is until the film's second act where the action shift to Okinawa and Gibson's apparent glee at depicting the gory horrors of war come to fruition. There's an argument to be made for this, how easy it might be to avoid violence when no one's threatening your life, but considering how even the drill sergeant played by Vince Vaughn, no really, uses speeches that would be too tame for 1970's Patton the almost immediate shift into stomach churning violence is an almost comical dichotomy. What's so strange about these scenes is that despite being horrific, they seem to be when Gibson's eye for direction and drama comes alive much like The Passion emphasized Jesus' torture above his status as a savior.

Still once the movie gets to Doss' real-life heroics, the story can't help but inspire. The majority of the third act is an extensive one man rescue mission as Doss recovers and saves wounded soldiers even as the enemy swarms all around him, and as much as I wanted to point out formula or cliched moments there is something truly amazing about Doss' story.

Acting-wise this movie is all over the map. Andrew Garfield has a notably over the top drawl and seems to spend most of the movie between bemusement and "Lord give me strength" looks at the camera, but it's effective in a Gibsonian film. However the two strongest performances probably come from Hugo Weaving as Doss' tumultuous father and Sam Worthington as a hard but soft-spoken commander. These performances work because the actor's don't overplay their hands. Weaving might be volatile but he still gets to give his son quiet moments of support, whereas Worthington's quiet gruffness is great for a contrasting disapproving voice and someone who may seek out Doss' help later. The biggest question mark is Vince Vaughn who was clearly brought in to be funny as Doss' drill instructor but comes across like a fifties sitcom character instead. Maybe it's the fact that he doesn't curse or that he's overacting the hell of our his part, but there's almost no moments in the entire film when Vaughn isn't yelling.

Granted, the big question is whether or not Hacksaw Ridge is Oscar worthy. In my mind, no. There are plenty of good moments in this movie, and the battle sequences feature great direction and sound design, but the film is also full of cliches and contrasting messages. It works because Gibson, as South Park famously pointed out, understands proper story structure and film language, but I smell the "Greatest Generation" preference all over this one.

Flawed and tonally at odds with itself, Hacksaw Ridge is still a sincere, non-preachy, presentation of its real-life inspiration. Certainly not for everyone, but still capable of inspiring.