Hacksaw Ridge

After a 10 year hiatus as director, Mel Gibson once again steps behind the camera to bring us a very unique and moving tale from the Pacific battlefields of World War II. A tale of courage and bravery that is both touching and at times quite harrowing, this ranks with Saving Private Ryan as one of the best war movies ever made.

Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) finds himself at a crossroads at the dawn of World War II. He feels a need to serve and do his part, but yet his faith has forbidden him from taking a life no matter the circumstances. His father (played by Hugo Weaving) is a World War I vet who saw all his friends killed in combat and the result has left him a hollow alcoholic of a man. The last thing he wants is for either of his sons to go through the same thing. When Desmond does enlist and his beliefs are revealed, his fellow soldiers think him a coward, trying to hide behind his beliefs to avoid combat. He has a long struggle through training as his Drill Instructor, Sgt. Howell (played by Vince Vaughn) and Captain Glover (played by Sam Worthington) try to get him to quit. Through it all he perseveres and is allowed to go ahead and train to be an Army Medic He ships out with his unit to the battle of Okinawa in Japan, specifically the taking of the titular Hacksaw Ridge which more resembles hell itself. Throughout the fights in trying to take the ridge, Doss shows unbelievable courage as he dodges the chaos to try and get his injured fellow soldiers to safety. 

Hacksaw Ridge is the true story of Desmond Doss' actions in World War II and is an impressive and moving film. Mel Gibson once again shows his talents for behind the camera. He manages to balance the harsh and horrifying violence of the battle scenes with the more dramatic scenes in the film when Doss is at home contemplating enlisting because he doesn't feel it's right he stay behind while everyone else fights for him and the romantic scenes as Doss courts his girlfriend, Dorothy Schutte (played by Theresa Palmer). He also handles the themes of Doss' faith quite well so that the film never seems preachy, but rather something that direct's Doss' life and how he acts. The film even manages to work in a little bit of humor in the right places, which I welcomed given how intense and grim it got at times.

The acting in the film is across the board great. More than anything, this is Andrew Garfield's movie as we are with Doss almost every step of the way, from his early scenes through training to the climactic scene where he decides to stay behind when the remainders of his unit fall back to rescue his fallen comrades single handedly. His performance is fantastic in the film. There are a few scenes that are a little over-dramatic, but for the most part it's a great performance. It's nice to see Vince Vaughn in a dramatic role again as Sgt. Howell, whose initial doubts about Doss soften over time as he sees how committed he is to stay. Teresa Palmer is also good as Doss' girlfriend Dorothy and has some decent chemistry with Andrew Garfield. They share a few cute scenes even before Doss ships out for basic training. 

Overall, Hacksaw Ridge is Gibson's best film since Braveheart. It's a very well directed tale of a very unique chapter in the history of World War II and was one I was not familiar with. The story was well told and was deeply affecting. It will be interesting to see where it lands come awards season, but I thought it was a great, if intense and at times very violent film.