Movie Review: “Hacksaw Ridge” finds passionate Mel Gibson back in the director’s chair

Movie Review: “Hacksaw Ridge” (R)

If there’s one theme that’s most prevalent in the greatest of war films, it’s that war is hell! See “Paths of Glory,” “The Deer Hunter,” “Platoon,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Black Hawk Down,” and “The Hurt Locker” just to name a prominent few. You can now add Mel Gibson’s stunning, real-life superhero movie, “Hacksaw Ridge,” to that prestigious list. It should also be noted that while this movie is brutal and unflinching in it’s depiction of the horrors of the battlefield, many viewers might be surprised to learn that a large portion of “Hacksaw Ridge” is decidedly old fashioned, particularly where its central love story is concerned.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is based on true events and delves into the life of Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), a Christian conscientious objector and decorated U.S. Army medic who would go on to save several lives during a fierce World War II battle without ever once firing a weapon. The film covers everything from Doss’ relationship with his troubled war veteran father (Hugo Weaving), to a passionate romance with the girl of his dreams (Teresa Palmer), to a potential court-martial that would find this stoic soldier sticking to his convictions, to a brutal and all-too-terrifying stand at Hacksaw Ridge where a heroic Doss would engage in the unthinkable, all in the name of his country and his brothers on the battlefield.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is one epic motion picture experience. In terms of its sprawling nature, it’s exactly what one would come to expect from a skilled and passionate director like Mel Gibson (“The Man Without a Face,” “Braveheart,” “The Passion of the Christ,” and “Apocalypto”). Again, though, it’s the film’s old-fashioned sensibility that is most surprising. “Hacksaw Ridge” is very patient, and Gibson and his screenwriters, Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, wisely give us plenty of insight into Doss’ life long before he enlists in the military. We see where this man’s disdain for violence comes from early on. It actually dates back to an altercation between him and his brother when the siblings were just children. Gibson also depicts Doss as a dedicated individual whose passion goes way beyond his love for his country. It begins with his love for his family despite a very strained relationship between him and his PTSD-afflicted father. That passion is also completely apparent during his whirlwind romance with Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer), a nurse whose fear of her man going to war is only trumped by her love and admiration for him.

Since “Hacksaw Ridge” takes its time with the set-up, it makes the battle carnage in the final act all the more effective because there’s so much more at stake. While we’re on the topic of war carnage, Gibson doesn’t mess around. The entire film is gorgeously shot, but the Hacksaw Ridge sequence itself is a force to be reckoned with. It’s shocking and graphic, but such is war. There is a slightly disappointing “faceless enemy” aspect to the war sequences, and while it would have been nice to have the sort of perspective that Clint Eastwood gave us with “Letters From Iwo Jima,” “Hacksaw Ridge” is really Doss’ story; therefore, that’s what Gibson focuses on.

Andrew Garfield delivers his very best work to date as Doss. It’s tough enough that this man must earn the right to fight for his own country in a way that he feels is right, but once the bullets start to fly, he isn’t quite prepared for the complete and utter chaos that awaits him. Garfield brings a quiet power and grace to this unexpected American hero.

As solid as Garfield is, “Hacksaw Ridge” offers up a handful of supporting performances that are equally worth noting. Weaving is positively stellar as Doss’s father, Tom, bringing emotional weight to a tragic man whose life has been virtually destroyed by the art of war. Vince Vaughn subverts our expectations of what a tough-as-nails blowhard sergeant can be by injecting much needed humor into the proceedings and lacing that humor with a surprising amount of heart. This might be the most non-Vince Vaughn performance of Vince Vaughn’s career, and it works to this particular movie’s advantage. Kudos to Gibson for casting both Weaving and Vaughn against type. Rounding out an exceptional supporting cast are Palmer, Rachel Griffiths, Sam Worthington, and Luke Bracey.

There are certainly moments in this picture that are a little overly melodramatic and even a bit cheesy, but there’s an unrelenting power at the heart of this movie that recalls Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” In fact, “Hacksaw Ridge” has really stuck with me since I first saw it. Gibson’s fiery, intense, brutal depiction of war itself is a visceral assault to be sure, but there’s a lot more going on here. No matter what your personal beliefs, this is an inspirational and spiritual story of courage and heroism, and it sort of blows my mind that Doss’ story hasn’t been told until now.

There will no doubt be some viewers who half-heartedly accuse this film and its central figure of moral superiority. And in fact, even I questioned it after first walking out of the picture. The truth is, though, that “Hacksaw Ridge” never really suggests that Doss won an entire war without the use of guns. If anything, Doss would be quick to point out that had it not been for his brothers on the battlefield, he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did. It’s also quite clear that Doss wasn’t interested in forcing his beliefs on others. What this movie truly illustrates — and very beautifully, I might add — is that heroes come in all forms. Don’t be so quick to judge someone simply because you have a different belief structure, because you never can tell. That particular individual might just save your life someday. Beyond that, “Hacksaw Ridge” brilliantly illustrates what a lot of us already knew going in: War is hell.

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