Andrew Garfield’s Performance as Desmond Doss, is remarkable
As many of you know, I have had an attachment to Andrew Garfield for a while. Spider-Man has always been my favourite superhero, and at 13, watching The Amazing Spider-Man in cinemas was a huge awakening for my closeted gay self. I didn’t know why I found Andrew so ‘cool’ and alluring as Peter. It was only until my later formative years that I understood my recognising of his coolness and him being alluring was actually because I was gay and not only wanted to be him, but I wanted to be with him. That aside, Andrew’s various performances in Hollywood, television, stage and indie cinema have been beyond astounding. As great as he was as Peter Parker, I can’t but help recognising his greatest performance is his portrayal of wartime hero Desmond T. Doss, in the wartime epic Hacksaw Ridge.
I was genuinely besotted by Andrew’s performance. His acting was so captivating and realistic. He grins. He has eyes (those puppy dog eyes ugh god help me) that are salient, deep and trusting. Throughout the first half of the movie, Andrew’s character feels as if he is a reflection of an earlier era, most notably Virginian men in the South. Historically, Hacksaw Ridge focuses on Desmond T. Doss, who was the first conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honour because of his heroic actions in Okinawa as a combat medic in the Second World War. Andrew portrays Doss in a way that makes you understand Doss’ beliefs as a very religious person from Virginia in America’s South. He is extraordinarily polite, caring, charming, happy and radiant. He is the husband everyone would want and cares about everyone no matter who they are (as we see later on in the film, he looks after a Japanese soldier).
Doss refuses to carry a weapon in the film, due to his religious beliefs, he doesn’t want to kill any body. Andrew’s performance, and specifically this aspect of it makes Doss’ heroism and valour deeper and incredibly personal. This is contrasted with the film’s depiction of the violence of war (which is nothing short of amazing effects and cinematography), and what weapons can actually do to people and their bodies. It’s acutely distressing to watch, and makes you want to jump out of your seat, but Andrew’s performance as this sensitive, caring man who would do anything for anyone is what perfectly anchors and mends this. Desmond makes you feel better as a viewer as much as he makes men he assists on the battlefield better. Andrew’s acting, between his facial expressions and visible concern for the men he swore to protect, and that protection and will to save the lives of those men goes beyond his own side. Doss assists a Japanese soldier he comes across and eases his pain, giving him morphine, and offering the same kindness and respect, even if he was from the other side.
Doss’ attitude comes from a religious point of view, but I personally think it is even deeper than that and is just pure human decency and virtue. Doss himself stated that: “While everybody else is taking life, I’m going to be saving it.” This is incredibly important for Doss and his development as he truly believes that all life is sacred.
Andrew portrays these thoughts and emotions as a incredibly culturally religious man in such a gorgeous fashion. He steals every seen he is in by striking and commanding performances both on and out of the battlefield. What he does so effortlessly in scenes such as when he is explaining to his commanders why he refuses to handle a gun or scenes with his onscreen lover, all of Andrew’s awkward gestures, adorable glances and glares into the camera come from a place of extreme authenticity and talent. Andrew is an expert at exemplifying Desmond’s anxiety and the fact that Desmond has to grapple with the fact that the Japanese could literally shoot him at any moment he moved in the trenches. His performance really captures the danger and fear during the war that we as individuals these days will simply never understand.
Doss is a character of visceral and instinctive heroic qualities that a lot of the time he seems almost TOO GOOD of a human to be true, and realistic. But the fact is, he was a real person, with real thoughts and beliefs. Andrew’s portrayal is a broad and holistic study of Doss — who he was and what he represented, and that is the good in this world. Ironically, it is both the meditative and religious qualities of Doss that Andrew brings to create such a gorgeous and strong performance (that of course explains why he bloody got nominated for an Academy Award for it) that in the end convinces us that not everyone who is religious can be bigoted and dogmatic, as well as the fact that World War II, and all the horrors that came with it, happened.