Hacksaw Ridge

The story of Private Desmond Doss is an interesting one, one of faith and courage to stand up for your convictions without hiding behind them to avoid service in times of war. He served in World War II as a combat medic while refusing to carry a firearm, something that he was originally branded a coward for but later proved absolutely false. His war record was exemplary, and he saved many lives during his tenure in the Pacific. He proved that it was entirely possible to serve his country without having to take lives for it. 

His life was the subject of books, documentaries, and the film Hacksaw Ridge, which went on to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. But during his lifetime, he resisted offers to turn his life story into movies because he felt that the offers coming to him wanted to deemphasize certain aspects of his beliefs and shift the focus away from what he felt was the most important part of his story, his faith. While it is true that this film still deemphasized certain aspects of his life and beliefs, a lot of it made it into the picture, and the moral message is crystal clear. 

The film opens with a young Desmond Doss (Darcy Bryce, later played by Andrew Garfield) nearly killing his brother while roughhousing. This act of violence reinforces in him the importance of his Seventh-Day Adventist upbringing and especially the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. Years later, while helping a wounded man to the hospital, he meets nurse Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer) and falls in love. He also discovers an interest in medical work. Not long afterwards, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, forcing America into World War II. 

Desmond enlists in the United States Army with the intent of being a conscientious objector and a combat medic. His father (Hugo Weaving), a PTSD-ridden World War I veteran, is upset by the decision but unable to prevent it. Shortly before leaving for basic training, Desmond and Dorothy get engaged. 

Desmond is placed with the 77th Infantry Division under the command of Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn), and while he excels physically, his refusal to handle a firearm or train on Saturdays makes him a pariah amongst his fellow soldiers. This leads to mockings, beatings, and eventually an attempt by his superior officers to court-martial him out of the service for refusing to obey a direct order. They also rescind his leave at the last minute, preventing him from attending his own wedding. His father, however, arrives at the disciplinary hearing with a letter in hand from his own former commanding officer, now a brigadier general, stating that his son’s pacifism is protected by the US Constitution and he cannot be compelled, forced, or punished for his adherence to it. With that resolved, Desmond marries Dorothy and is soon afterwards deployed to the Pacific Theater.

During the Battle of Okinawa, they are tasked with ascending and securing the Maeda Escarpment, aka Hacksaw Ridge. The battle is brutal, and many lives are lost on both sides. Desmond, not shrinking away from the brutality like his fellow soldiers assumed he would, saves many lives, including that of his squad-mate Smitty (Luke Bracey), who apologizes for doubting his courage. While many of his fellow soldiers remain at the bottom of the ridge, Desmond stays above, rescuing wounded soldiers one after another, lowering them down the steep incline where they can receive medical attention. 

The message of this picture is perfectly clear: there are more ways to defend your country and the freedom of the world than taking up a gun and killing people. Courage comes in many forms, too, not just the courage to fight your enemies. Desmond represents a different kind of courage, the courage to stand for something even when you stand alone. None of his squadmates believe the same as he does, but in the end, they respect him for it because of how he carries himself. He earned their respect initially by not telling on them when he was assaulted in basic training, and he cemented that respect with his bravery on the battlefield, risking everything to rescue the wounded. 

Director Mel Gibson has a good eye for character development. We get just enough information to understand who Desmond is without having it spoon-fed to us. The final key to understanding his character comes late when Desmond recounts a story about taking a weapon from his drunken father and nearly killing him. This pacifism is rooted in religious conviction, but it is not entirely tied to that. There are personal reasons, too, including his nearly killing his brother when they were young.

While Mel Gibson nails the character moments, the battle sequences are played too over-the-top. He’s trying to make a direct comparison to the brutal slayings on both sides of the war with the pacifistic beliefs of Desmond, but this only works to a certain degree. The gore and violence are so over-the-top that it becomes cartoonish rather than effective. A prime example of this is one soldier picking the severed upper body of a fallen comrade and using it as a shield while he advances on the Japanese. This is gory, but it also feels like something from an over-the-top video game such as Mortal Kombat. It also goes on for far too long with endless scenes of bodies flying in pieces, heads exploding, and flame-throwers setting people ablaze. Saving Private Ryan was equally as gory, but the way it was shot made it feel horrific, whereas here it just feels cartoonish a lot of the time. We should be emotionally charged by these battle sequences, and instead, we are laughing at the absurdity of it. 

Fortunately, when the main battle ends and it becomes a series of rescue attempts by Desmond, the film calms down enough to allow the seriousness of the situation to set in again. Desmond running around, picking up wounded soldiers, and getting them to safety is filled with tense moments and real stakes. This part of the story is just as well made as anything leading up to his deployment. 

Andrew Garfield is a fine actor who has been undervalued by some for his less-than-stellar Spider-Man films. Since those films, he has buried himself in some interesting projects that better suit his talents, including his Golden Globe-winning performance in Tick, Tick… Boom! The Academy saw greatness in his Hacksaw Ridge performance, too, giving him a nomination, though he didn’t win. You can see in this performance that his character is conflicted, fighting against his natural tendency for violence with a conviction that sometimes holds that at bay. You can also see that he questions himself, too, not entirely sure if what he is doing is for God or if pride has entered his heart. 

This is a film that suffers from conflicting tones. It juggles serious questions about morality, courage, and religious convictions. But thrown into that mix are some seriously goofy sequences like the first day of basic training, where one of the privates is forced to run the obstacle courses naked while the sergeant calls him out for being an exhibitionist. These conflicting tones and the over-the-top violence make this film inconsistent overall. The message it has to convey is an important one for us to hear, but the way it is delivered isn’t always well done. Even Hugo Weaving, who is usually a solid actor, is playing half of his scenes dialed up to an 11. With more clear direction, this could have been one of the great war films. Instead it is just merely good. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Bill Mechanic and David Permut

Best Director: Mel Gibson

Best Actor: Andrew Garfield

Best Film Editing: John Gilbert (won)

Best Sound Editing: Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright

Best Sound Mixing: Peter Grace, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, and Andy Wright (won)

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Release Date: November 4, 2016

Running Time: 139 minutes

Rated R

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Vince Vaughn

Directed by: Mel Gibson