Love him or hate him, personally or as a filmmaker, Mel Gibson has never made a movie halfway. Whether it’s reviving dead languages, plunging the camera into the heart of a bloody battle or crafting messianic imagery both metaphorical and literal, you can always trust that the image you’re seeing on the screen is precisely the one he intended.
So it is with Hacksaw Ridge, the first film Gibson has directed in 10 years. It tells the story of real-life hero Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his bravery as a medic in the Battle of Okinawa. Doss, a devout Seventh-Day Adventist from Virginia, was determined to do his part in World War II, but refused to take up arms due to his religious beliefs and having witnessed the devastating emotional effects of violence on his father, a veteran of World War I. Harassed, penalized and ultimately court-martialed for disobeying a direct order to handle a rifle during basic training, Doss maintained his convictions and was permitted to go into battle without a weapon as a medic. When he finally saw combat, Doss single-handedly saved the lives of 75 soldiers left for dead without taking a single life.
Hacksaw Ridge
R, 130 minutes
Violet Crown Cinema and Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
This is an ideal story for Gibson’s directorial style as well as his brand of Catholicism—gritty, meditative, unflinchingly violent and stridently religious without demanding the audience share his devotion. Doss’ story carries an inherently pacifist message but not a reductionist one; Doss knows that his decision not to kill will not end the war and solve the world’s problems, but he also knows that it is not an obstacle to fulfilling his duty to his country. He also never proselytizes to his comrades or attempts to convert them to his beliefs, never denying or reducing the bravery of soldiers who did take up arms.
As Christian cinema, Hacksaw Ridge is far more resonant than the preaching-to-the-choir pandering associated with the genre. God’s Not Dead, for example, was just a bit of war-on-Christmas-style paranoia come to life that only sought to confirm the preconceived notions of its target demographic. As a testament of faith, Hacksaw Ridge is possibly even more powerful than Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which though technically impeccable and clearly cathartic, was unlikely to convince any nonbelievers. Hacksaw Ridge shows a man struggling to remain true to his convictions in circumstances where others insist they don’t apply, when in fact they proved themselves more valuable than ever. Doss’ bravery is his own but is shown as inseparable from his belief; every time he rescues another wounded soldier, Doss asks God to allow him just one more, then one more and so on until 75 men are rescued. If your goal is to convince the world that faith is valuable not only to God but to your fellow man, this is the way to do it.
There are moments where the conviction bleeds into overt messianic metaphor. One moment in particular sees Doss covering himself in a dead body as Japanese soldiers bayonet any potential survivors remaining on the battlefield. The soldier stabs the body on top of Doss, then, when the coast is clear, he checks his right rib to check for any wounds, an overt reference to the Five Sacred Wounds. There is also the always-troubling reminder that the war was alarmingly racist, and the word “Jap” is featured prominently in the dialogue. This is of course historically accurate and to ignore it would be dishonest, but Gibson includes scenes featuring Japanese actors with no dialogue whose only purpose is to be cunning and vicious. It would be one thing to leave this facet of history unchallenged, but why confirm the prejudices of the characters?
Hacksaw Ridge is the first film Gibson has directed since 2006’s Apocalypto, which was arguably his creative high point before a massive downturn in both public perception and artistic output. Hacksaw Ridge sees the filmmaker reexamining his faith and determined to make a positive contribution to the world, while reminding us why we valued him in the first place.
Playing this week
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213
The Accountant, Boo! A Madea Halloween, Dr. Strange, The Girl on the Train, Inferno, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Keeping Up With the Joneses, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Storks, Trolls
Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000
The Accountant, Denial, Dr. Strange, The Girl on the Train, Inferno, Jack Reacher, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Trolls