Regardless of what you may think of Mel Gibson as a human being (and he’s demonstrated some deplorable behavior in recent years), he’s an excellent filmmaker. Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto all showed an impressive artistic vision and creativity. I don’t know if he loves violence, but he’s certainly intent on showing its graphic consequences in full grisly detail to make a point.
It’s not difficult to see why Hacksaw Ridge and the story of Private Desmond Doss appealed to Gibson. The premise of a soldier who enlists in the Army during World War II, but refuses to use a weapon or harm another man because of his religious beliefs almost seems preposterous. Yet as you likely know, this is indeed a true story, one served well by Gibson and his cast on screen.
Most recently well-known for playing Spider-Man in two comic book blockbusters, it might be easy to forget that Andrew Garfield is one hell of an actor. (Though the two Spider-Man films he starred in weren’t very good, he was a memorable Peter Parker, playing a different take on the character than Tobey Maguire did in his three Spidey movies.) Playing Spider-Man may have fulfilled a childhood dream for Garfield, and very few actors would turn down the chance to star in a popular movie franchise.
Fans may disagree, but Garfield is a better actor than a role like Spider-Man allows him to demonstrate and being free from that red-and-blue webbed costume is probably the best thing for his career. (OK, probably not financially.) Hacksaw Ridge provides him the opportunity to go through a variety of emotions and show everything he’s capable of doing.
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If there is one complaint about Hacksaw Ridge, it’s that the story takes a while to get what makes Doss truly compelling, even when it gets very difficult to watch. Yet it’s understandably important for Gibson, along with writers Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight, to show what formed Doss’ deep religious beliefs, what made him so averse to violence that he refused to fight or use a weapon in war, even when doing so meant defending himself.
The story also makes an effort to show that Doss has something to lose at home. He falls in love with Dorothy, a nurse at the local hospital (Teresa Palmer), who eventually sees that Desmond is a kind, genuine person, but perhaps needs a lesson or two in social graces, especially when it comes to dating. Establishing the relationship between the two results in some rather corny, borderline sappy scenes that seem obvious in trying to attract a larger audience that might not be interested in a war movie. But it’s necessary to show that Doss has something to come home to. Otherwise, how could he possibly endure what he does?
Doss’ family life also plays a key role in his decision to enlist for the war, yet stay true to his core beliefs to maintain his humanity. His father (Hugo Weaving) fought in World War I and lost both of his friends in combat. Guilty over surviving while his fellow soldiers died and living with the horrors of what he witnessed, William Doss tries to dull his pain in booze and takes out his guilt and anger on his family. When Desmond tells his father that he’s joined the Army, his father tries to talk him out of it. But Desmond refuses to stand by while his friends and neighbors go off to fight and sacrifice for the war.
Upon entering basic training, Doss looks like the ideal recruit and could be an excellent soldier. He cares about his teammates, he’s determined to complete every task required of him, and willing to fight for his country. But eventually, his training runs into one really big issue. When presented with a firearm, Doss refuses to hold his rifle, let alone operate it. That brings him into direct conflict with his superior officers, Sgt. Howell (Vince Vaughn) and Capt. Glover (Sam Worthington), who think this must be some kind of joke. Why would anyone enlist for the war if he wasn’t willing to kill the enemy?
From there, Howell and Glover try to convince Doss to quit, making him scrub toilets while his fellow recruits continue their training, submit to counseling intended to show that he’s mentally unfit and should be discharged, and getting his platoon mates to resent him by having to do extra work because of him. Eventually, Doss is outright bullied by the others, challenged to fight by a rival (Luke Bracey) and eventually beaten in the middle of the night by several attackers. It gets to be so bad that Howell pleads with him to go home for his own well-being, but Doss refuses.
Ultimately, Doss is tried by court-martial, but a general orders that he has the right to refuse a weapon and should be allowed to serve and go into battle as a medic. The platoon is shipped out to Okinawa, where his fellow soldiers distrust him and view him as a liability. That is, until the division is asked to battle the Japanese to take over a strategic territory and enter the true horror of war. And it’s here that Hacksaw Ridge becomes almost a completely different movie.
The scenes from the Battle of Okinawa will draw comparisons to the Omaha Beach sequence from Saving Private Ryan for its extreme violence and unflinching portrayal of combat. The visuals are absolutely grisly. Heads explode from gunfire, intestines burst out of abdomens and limbs are blown off by bullets and explosives. It is absolute hell, making you wonder how anyone could have come out alive, if not driven insane by what they witnessed. If you ever had any doubt as to how horrible World War II was and how much soldiers should be admired for what was endured, Gibson takes care of that.
Some will say that Gibson draws these scenes out far too long, but he’s clearly intent on showing the relentlessness of the battle. (It’s comparable to the unimaginable suffering Jesus Christ endured at the hands of the Romans in The Passion of the Christ.) Perhaps Gibson is guilty of punishing his audience to drive home the violence and inhumanity that man can inflict upon itself. But Doss’ story doesn’t have nearly enough meaning if it’s not demonstrated what he’s willing to walk back into over and over in order to save wounded soldiers, to fulfill the purpose he intended to serve by going to war.
It’s an inspirational story, one that probably wouldn’t be believed if it wasn’t true. Perhaps the story gets predictable when Doss wins the respect, admiration and gratitude of his platoon mates, or gets you to like a character that you just know is going to die in combat. There are also several lines of dialogue in the movie that are just a bit too spot-on, saying exactly what the scene is demonstrating or characters are supposed to be feeling. But those missteps are easy to forgive in the overall achievement of the film.
Hacksaw Ridge is not an easy film to watch, but it shouldn’t be either. However, Desmond Doss’s story deserves to be told (and seen) and couldn’t have gotten a better actor than Garfield to enact it. The Academy Awards may have a tough decision to make when it comes to honoring Gibson for what he created.
