Desmond Doss was a young man from Virginia who wanted to play his part in World War II. He was also a Seventh Day Adventist and a pacifist who would not use violence against another man. His fight to be a part of the US army forms the basis of this new film directed by Mel Gibson. He eventually makes it into the army as a medic and shows his true colours when he finds himself in the midst of horrific conflict in the Pacific theatre of 1945.
The first half of the film is about Doss (ably played by Andrew Garfield) in boot camp trying to stay true to his convictions while dealing with ridicule and harassment from his fellow trainees & punishment from his superiors. Cliche abounds here ie beatings, slaggings, forced marches etc but we get to know more about Doss and the supporting soldiers. What also pleased me was that the Drill Sergeant ( Vince Vaughn who i usually cant hack at all, too many awful comedies lately) isn't the one note anger machine we usually see in war films. I mean, he is shouty but we can get the sense that Doss interests him and i found that refreshing.
The meat of the film and i mean that both figuratively and literally is in the second half of the film which takes place during the Battle of Okinawa on the eponymous ridge of the title. Director Mel Gibson comes into his own here. We've seen from his past films that he is a master of directing violent action sequences and his work here is second to none. This is war depicted as it should be. Blood and guts. Disgusting. An abbatoir. Hell. Not since the start of Saving Private Ryan has warfare been depicted so vividly.
The acting is mostly superb. Andrew Garfield does remind me of a lost puppy in places but he carries the film with aplomb. Hugo Weaving is magnificent in a small role as Doss's father who plays a pivotal role in getting Doss into combat. Vince Vaughn shows that he's hopefully over his True Detective mis-step by taking what is usually a one note role and making something more of it. Teresa Palmer makes the most of a very minor role as the only woman of note in the film. This was never going to be a film that would pass the Bechdel test but i would have liked to have seen more of her.
The directing of the film is excellent, especially in the 2nd half of the film. Even in the melee of battle we can easily make out what is happening, who is who and where they are. Plenty of modern day directors make an absolute balls of action scenes by overdoing the shaky cam and thinking this will add excitement. It doesn't. Mel Gibson, due to events in the recent past has quite rightly been a pariah in Hollywood. Hopefully he has learned his lessons, will shut up in future, keep his head down and stick to director duties.
All in all i thought this was a very good film. It's an amazing story that would seem far-fetched if it was fiction. Some aspects annoyed me, like the overblown treatment of Doss later in the film, one very very gung-ho sequence on the battlefield ( you'll know it, it's like GI Joe and sticks out like a sore thumb ) and the casting of Sam Worthington as the Captain. The man cannot act at all! But that said the good far outweighs the bad.
A very solid night out at the cinema.
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