Hacksaw Ridge (Film Review)

2016 Lionsgate
Directed by: Mel Gibson; Written by:Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight
Starring:Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Vince Vaughn
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 139 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Young Desmond Doss loses his temper during a fight with his brother and nearly kills him with a brick. The experience, coupled with Doss' strong religious beliefs, convinces him to swear off violence forever. However, as Desmond passes through his teenage years in his sleepy, rural Virginia town, and reaches his 20's, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Doss soon finds that his conviction to serve his country in World War II is just as strong as his conviction to live a life of non-violence...and decides to enlist in the U.S. Army...as a conscientious objector. 

In a rough basic training, Desmond, who refuses to even carry a firearm, is mocked and beaten by his fellow soldiers. He faces court-martial and the threat of a lifetime in prison at the hands of his superiors. However, absolutely nothing can break Desmond's will. When Desmond finally ships overseas with his unit, it's to Okinawa, one of the war's bloodiest, deadliest, most brutal battlefields. Will he prove to his peers and superiors that his honor and courage equal the strength of his convictions...or will he prove his naysayers words, "You don't win wars by giving up your life," to be true? 

It belies belief that the absolute, most unbelievable moments in Hacksaw Ridge are the most true. While the filmmakers take some liberties with Doss' early years, and consolidate some of the men he served with into fewer characters, director, Mel Gibson, had to actually tone down some of Doss' real life battlefield heroics, thinking audiences might find them too extraordinary.
Say what you will about Gibson's personal life, and boy could you say a lot, but every film he has made has been filled with passion. In contrast to Gibson's Braveheart and Apocalypto, Hacksaw Ridge's earlier, stage-setting scenes are actually a bit clumsy, and the film's weakest element. However, once Gibson gets Andrew Garfield's Doss to training camp, the movie begins to shine, and only gets better from there. 

As he's a Brit playing a Southerner, Garfield's fake accent takes a bit getting used to (a film-ending video of the real Doss shows the accent to actually be pretty spot on). However, as the shock of that wears away, the strength of Garfield's performance begins to reveal itself, as he makes the young medic's repeated battlefield prayer, "God, help me to save one more" saintlike. It's powerful work. As expected, Gibson pulls no punches in showcasing the horrors of war, which highlights even more the superheroic nature of Doss' continued rushes into it to save his comrades.
Vince Vaughn, as Doss' commanding officer, also gives a performance of note, as he's slowly won over by Doss' courageous heroism. Vaughn, the lone American in a Brit and Aussie-loaded cast (Gibson shot in Australia to save money), almost acts as an audience surrogate, as his sardonic doubts soon give way to disbelieving admiration. Luke Bracey also adds charm and charisma as a Doss-doubting-turned-believing soldier. 

While Hacksaw Ridge does have to overcome that weaker opening act, it is an extraordinary film, showcasing just how big a difference a person with unwavering, positive convictions can make. It's yet another feather in Gibson's directorial hat, the rare antiwar film that both conveys the horrors of war, yet shows what true love and heroism look like--and it really happened.