Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Review: A Classic “Glad I Saw It” Movie
[spoilers throughout]
I saw this movie only because I heard Oscar buzz about Andrew Garfield, on whom I have been crushing since The Social Network (2010). If I had taken 5 seconds to read a parental warning, I might not have gone, what with the level of graphic violence. That being said, I am glad I went. On the way to the theater I thought, “I bet this is going to be one of those movies that I only see once.” And it wasn’t the first Mel Gibson directed movie that I have said that about (see: The Passion of the Christ (2004). Spoiler alert: I was right.
Hacksaw Ridge did so much so well. I credit most of my “glad I went” feelings to Hugo Weaving who plays a Virginian man, born in arguably the worst time in human history. He was old enough to fight in WWI and then old enough to send both his sons to WWII. A global war is a reality that us Millenials do not know, so I will speak very little about it. Weaving’s character, Tom, teaches us at the dinner table about the crushing horror of the battlefield. His performance is so powerful that, despite the Shooting-A-War-Scene Masterclass that Gibson puts on later in the movie, I was left remembering this scene most lucidly.
The opening scene with the young Doss boys had me nervous as the acting was rigid and the writing void of nuance. Then grown-up Desmond (Garfield) arrives on screen and the audience can breath a sigh of relief. Upon a second viewing, I might find Garfield’s first act googly eyes over his love interest to be a bit cheesy, but on first viewing, I was pretty hook line and sinker for him. Gibson shapes him in this first act in such a way that the audience really can’t help but sympathize with his position. I am generally one who not only allows but invites the writer/director to manipulate my feelings however they see fit. So if Gibson wants me to love this guy, then I am all in.
The second act basic training part is good, and helpful, narratively. Vince Vaughn as the Drill Sargent worked for me. I didn’t just see Old School guy or Wedding Crashers guy up there, but someone with the comedic chops to pull off the first scene in the barracks, then someone with the range to be compelling on the battlefield. I’m sure others will disagree.
The (long) third act was so startlingly and accessibly violent that I looked away a bunch of times. Gibson was smart and chose lots of little vignettes to help us find the right places for the puzzle pieces that make up Doss (and Garfield puts the vignettes in technicolor with fine-tipped detail) — finding and treating the Japanese soldier, taking risks to administer morphine, panic-dreams about being ambushed. Ultimately, Gibson takes his time in delivering the answer to the question about Desmond and his commitment: will he fold? His refusal to leave the ridge until all survivors are rescued brings us to our answer. No, Desmond will not fold. If it wasn’t a true story, I would have written off this screen play as ludicrous…if I was a studio executive and anyone cared what I thought.
I recommend seeing Hacksaw Ridge for a few reasons: One, Weaving and Garfield’s performances. Two, it is a war story with hope — sometimes hard to come by. Three, Gibson knows how to shoot a war movie. I would say, go see it because you “should” just like you “should” see Twelve Years a Slave (2013) and Schindler’s List (1993), but feeling duty-bound might elicit uncalled-for guilt, so maybe go see it as a chance to learn about a time you (surely) won’t have to suffer through.
8/10 — for the opening scene and an unnecessarily long/dramatic shot of Doss’s stretcher being lowered to the ground after he was wounded.
