2016 | Dir. Mel Gibson | 139 Minutes
"Please Lord, help me get one more. Help me get one more."
During World War II, devout Seventh-day Adventist Desmond Doss enlists in the US Army to serve as a combat medic. Doss immediately attracts contempt from his squad mates and commanding officers based on his refusal to train with or carry a service weapon due to his religious beliefs. However, Doss quickly earns their respect and gratitude, risking his life saving over six dozen men during the Battle of Okinawa.
Based on the real life of Private First Class Desmond Doss, the first half of Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge plays out like a standard biopic, virtually checking off every item on the standard cinematic-formative-life-event list for Doss in rapid succession. The boot camp section of the film, highlighting the inevitable conflict of ideology between Doss and the military, is compelling enough if slightly stale.
However, the picture truly comes into its own during its second half. Gibson expertly showcases Doss' extraordinary heroics on a truly horrific battlefield. Featuring some of the bloodiest military combat scenes in a mainstream Hollywood film since Saving Private Ryan, the onscreen violence serves to accentuate Doss' bravery in the face of the senseless brutality in Okinawa, at one point returning to the fog of war to assist the wounded that was left behind as his squad retreats.
As Desmond Doss, Andrew Garfield delivers the finest performance of his career to date, portraying Doss as a kind, soft-spoken man with a subtly indelible strength just under the surface until he is called into action. Though he nearly crosses the line into chewing the scenery, character actor Hugo Weaving is excellent as damaged alcoholic veteran father Tom Doss, at first refusing to support Doss' decision to enlist but ultimately vouching for him. In a slightly off-balance performance, Vince Vaughn is equal parts seething military officer and comedian as Doss' Sergeant, constantly berating his men with humorously deadpan criticism, focusing most of his disdain on Doss. Sam Worthington does a serviceable job playing Doss' captain with the standard biopic antagonist arc, fundamentally disagreeing with Doss' beliefs at the start of the film but having his mind completely by the end. Good but mostly unremarkable in a role written to be a stock character, Australian actress Teresa Palmer plays Doss' wife Dorothy Schutte. The film also features Rachel Griffiths as Doss' mother in another mostly thankless stock character role.
Despite its generic first half, Hacksaw Ridge is an excellent war film. The picture tells a truly inspirational story of courage and dedicated conviction. It is carried by a brilliant performance from Andrew Garfield as he proves to be one of the best actors of his generation.
FRAGMENTS
- The film spent fourteen years in development as the real life Desmond Doss did not want filmmakers to inaccurately portray or sensationalize his life experiences and religious beliefs
- The picture does not portray or mention Doss' service in Guam and Leyte prior to Okinawa and condenses Doss' service in Okinawa from about three weeks to a few days
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Hugo Weaving (Johann Schmidt in Captain America: The First Avenger)
- Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home)
