HACKSAW RIDGE (2016)

THE FILM

FILM DIRECTOR: Mel Gibson

SCREENWRITER: Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight

FILM STARS: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Rachel Griffiths, Richard Roxburgh, Ben O’Toole, Benedict Hardie, Milo Gibson, and Nathaniel Buzolic, Hugo Weaving

COUNTRY: USA – Australia

THIS BOOK

AUTHOR: Booton Herndon

TYPE: Biography

PUBLISHER: Remnant

THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 2016

COUNTRY: USA

COVER: Paperback

THE ORIGINAL BOOK

ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above

YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 2016

ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: “The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story of Desmond T. Doss, Conscientious Objector Who Won His Nation’s Highest Military Honor” (2004). Later Title: “Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge: The Gripping Story That Inspired the Movie” (2016). Then “Hero of Hacksaw Ridge”.

NOTES

GENRE: War

WORDS: Mel Gibson’s brutal war film based on (or rather inspired by) Booton Herndon’s biography of Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist and conscientious objector who served as a medic in the US Infantry during World War II.

The film depicts Doss’ bravery, his unwavering commitment to his beliefs, and his experiences during the Battle of Okinawa, particularly in saving 75 men without firing a gun, for which he won the Medal of Honour.

And it works. The battle between belief and “though shalt not kill” and the need to defend ones country, or in this case battle the enemy, has been one that has been looked at in many films. More often than not, at least in the movies (and I would think in real life …at least in the 20th century), the conscientious objectors were asking to be released on religious grounds rather than freedom of conscience grounds. And that makes for easier narratives when it comes to movies. Religious conviction is more easily accepted than the more (likely) secular freedom of conscience positions.

Sergeant York (1941) (well he did kill but he was a pacifist who had to overcome his religious pacifist beliefs), the French film Thou Shalt Not Kill (1961), Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life (2019) and a couple of Civil war films (Friendly Persuasion (1956), No Drums, No Bugles (1972)) all dealt with individuals grappling with the need to kill as demanded by their country and their belief it is wrong.

The real life stories have the most resonance because, well, they were real life (no matter how embellished they are for film) The individuals were all brave in various ways from Alvin York (in Sergeant York) and his personal bravery to confront his beliefs (well, not as staunch in his beliefs but he thought about it at length before picking up a gun), to Desmond Doss’ refusal to fire a gun but become a medic under fire, to Austrian Franz Jägerstätter (in A Hidden Life) who refuses to fight for the Nazis, or to serve in any form and is imprisoned and executed.

This film doesn’t pull punches. The combat scenes are brutal and are meant to be. The more in your face the combat scenes the more easily you will accept Doss’ bravery. We need Hollywood visuals because, perhaps only servicemen could understand, without visuals, what it is like in battle … and by active I mean those infantrymen in actual  battle as opposed to those who served.

The screenplay by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight is inspired by the book and also on The Conscientious Objector a 2004 documentary film directed by Terry Benedict about the life of Desmond Doss. Both give more detail on Doss and his beliefs, including his childhood, and character. The film condenses the story to maintain a dramatic arc. You would think Doss’ actions at Okinawa took place over a period of a few days, but they were over a period of about three weeks (according to his citation). The film also omits his prior combat service in the Battle of Guam and Battle of Leyte where Doss was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for extraordinary bravery in both battles.

Whether because of his religious convictions (or their lack of application in real life) or his (drunken) antisemitic comments (which are tame compared to what is passed around nowadays) or his roles in many action films Mel doesn’t get taken as seriously, as a director, as he should (yes I know he won a Best director Oscar for Braveheart and was nominated here) despite having had hit films with some critics and audiences. He isn’t a tricky director , doesn’t call attention to his style., and he tends to look at a story straight on without any interest in ambiguities. He wants to tell a story where action is big, hard, sharp and swift and characters are heroes or villains. And that is fine. Mel handles the big battle scenes well (really well) and he knows how to get the most out of a crowd of people on the screen whether they be soldiers (here), Scottish rebels (Braveheart (1995)), Mayan warriors (Apocalypto (2006)) or Roman soldiers (The Passion of the Christ (2004)) but he never loses touch with the hero at the center. He is perhaps the Michael Curtiz of modern makers, and that is not bad thing.

The cast is solid. Lead Andrew Garfield was popular at the time. He was a dweeby Spiderman but as Doss he works. Vince Vaughn again shows he could have been an Aldo Ray type movie star in another era. Sam Worthington is solid but doesn’t stand out and the amount of Australian actors in other supports indicate it the movie was filmed in Australia.

Hacksaw Ridge was a hit with the critics and audiences grossing $180.5 million, against a production budget of $40 million

The book is an okay read (if you want a lot of Seventh day Adventist religion) but not necessary unless you want the detail. The film is well worth watching

NOTES

• Hacksaw Ridge refers to the Maeda Escarpment, a hilly area within the Urasoe Castle Ruins in Okinawa, Japan
• Terry Benedict, director of the documentary on Doss The Conscientious Objector (2004) was one of the producers of Hacksaw Ridge, and it features several excerpts from The Conscientious Objector immediately before the end credits.
• Actor Milo Gibson (born November 16, 1990) is the son of Mel Gibson and made his film debut in this film.

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