Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

I have never touched a gun and I doubt I ever will. I was struck by the irony of a film maker like Mel Gibson making a film paying tribute to a pacifist and his convictions. This sentimentalized biography of Desmond T. Doss, a real life American soldier in World War II who, due to his faith, refused to touch guns or kill, but signed up to join the American Amry as a medic, is a sometimes overly fawning love letter to Doss and his bravery, but also to his strength as a pacifist.

The film celebrates his refusal to back down in the face of all kinds of aggression, from his comrades in the army to the violence on the battlefield, Doss is painted as a pillar or resistance to a violent world. His heroism is defined through the lives that he saves, not takes. How refreshing.

Gibson's film falls in to many of the traps that "based on true story" films fall into. Doss often seems to wonderful to have been real, his flaws never truly explored, his relationships all to perfect. It also focuses on Doss and his heroism without critiquing the violent world around him. So while he is praised, the violence he is opposed to isn't deconstructed. We are to admire him for his stand without having to embrace his principles. It has the overall effect of sapping some of the emotion that could have been there.

Gibson's treatment of the Japanese "enemy" is at best dismissive, at worst outright racist. In Gibson's world, the American army was made up of handsome young white men. Not only are the Japanese soldiers never humanized, their lives aren't valued. Doss saves a few only to have a fellow soldier almost brag that they "didn't make it."

Gibson's approach puts an almost fairytale feeling all over this story. Many scenes seem structured quite conveniently and don't reach a level where they feel authentic. For example, Doss' court martial scene seems completely contrived, despite it actually having happened.  Despite the graphic depictions of war violence the film remains somewhat aloof from reality. I honestly feel this has to do with Gibson's reluctance to critique the war itself. It is an odd balance to celebrate a man who refused to kill without coming down on the killing that's happening.

What Gibson does well is his depiction of the WWII battlefields. The battle scenes are vicious and visceral. I think this is how it should be. If you are going to depict war, you should depict it, not some sanitized version that gives us a pass on the lives that are lost.

So for me Hacksaw Ridge is a mixed bag. I appreciated the depiction of the cost of war and of the argument supporting Doss' non-violence. I struggled with the film's tacit acceptance of war and it's slaughter, especially towards America's "enemies." Another plus is Vince Vaughn's charming "Sarge," a performance definitely worth catching. 

Hacksaw Ridge 

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Corr, Teresa Palmer, Richard Pyros and Rachel Griffith

Director: Mel Gibson

Writers: Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan