Based on a true story, the film follows Private Desmond Doss, an army medic, who saved a number of men during the brutal Battle Of Okinawa, without firing a single shot...
Some films, especially ones based on an actual event or a true story seem totally unbelievable. Hacksaw Ridge is one of them. But the story of Private Doss is truly remarkable. A Christian, a Seventh-Day Adventist, he signed up to be a medic during WW2, yet refused to carry a gun and never fired a shot. Mocked and bullied for his beliefs, he refused to quit and would go on to save the lives of 75 soldiers during the battle at Okinawa (although Doss reckoned the number was nearer 50, while others say it was closer to 100 and in the end they split the difference) and would be awarded the Medal Of Honour.
The film is split into two sections. The first half is about the battle Doss has to become a soldier, as we see how events in his upbringing led to him joining the army. At the same time, we see the blossoming romance between Doss and Dorothy Schutte, a nurse.
The training parts in the first half of the film do feature some of the stereotypical moments you would get in a war film. We have the gruff drill Sergeant and the usual typical group of recruits. While there some humorous moments certainly, it does have the feel of the scenes from Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. However, when Doss reveals how he won't carry a weapon, the film changes into a standoff between him and Army officers, who want him to quit as a conscientious objector, though Doss calls himself a conscientious co-operator, wanting to do his part despite his beliefs. In a series of flashbacks, we see the effects war had on his father now a drunk, violent at times. He knows what war can do to men and thinks his son is not strong enough for what is to come. In another we see Doss, in a fight of sorts badly hurt his brother, to such an extent he vows never to hurt anyone again. But despite the army trying to force Doss out and despite the bullying and violence to persuade him, Doss sticks to his strong religious beliefs.
The second half of the film is the battle for Okinawa. It is a brutal, bloody battle, both sides not giving an inch of ground as they attack each other over and over. Men are shot, stabbed, blown up and suffer in other ways as the film is unflinching in showing the carnage of battle. It's here that Doss was to save the lives of all those men in the middle of such carnage.
Mel Gibson, no stranger to violent battles and action in his films Braveheart and Apocalypto, stages the battle scenes very well indeed. At times in big battles you can loose focus on the main characters of the story, but Gibson lets us see where Doss and the various other characters are, so we can see what they are going through. He gets his camera right into the middle of the battles, as we see the horror of war on screen. Gibson is a good director and he directs the film very well indeed.
The script from Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight does suffer a bit from some of the typical cliches a war film can have, but it gives the cast some good material to work from. Teresa Palmer plays Dorothy and does very well with a role that is a little under written. Sam Worthington plays Captain Glover, the squad commanding officer, at first wanting doss to quit, but after his heroics on the battlefield comes to respect him. Worthington is pretty good in the role as is Vince Vaughn as Sgt. Howell. There is a bit of cliche in the role as written, but Vaughn gives his best performance in a long time. Hugo Weaving plays Doss' father, a man broken and haunted by the events of WW1 and is good too.
But the film belongs to Andrew Garfield. He is brilliant in the role of Desmond Doss. He fully convinces both as a man holding strong to his beliefs in the face of adversity and also in the battle scenes, as we see him desperately looking for wounded to save all the while as the Japanese soldiers are finishing off any they find. Onscreen for pretty much the whole film, Garfield is sensational. Between this and Silence, he's given two of the best performances of the year so far.
There are flaws. The music from Rupert Gregson-Williams while not bad is a bit generic. The split in the film into two parts does mean that characters like his wife and father, both key in the first half of the film are simply dropped from the narrative. Understandable, given the story begin told, but you do miss them.
But these are trivial flaws. Mel Gibson had made one of the best war-set films for sometime, but with the added aspects of Doss and his faith, it elevates the film even more. Hacksaw Ridge is a very good film indeed, anchored by a sensational central performance from Andrew Garfield.
It's the second film this year that has deals with faith, both starring Andrew Garfield. Of the two, Silence asks the difficult questions, whereas Hacksaw Ridge deals with it in a different but no less important way.
It's a powerful film, one well worth seeing.
Rating - 4/5
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