Hacksaw Ridge – Part 1: Redemption? “We need to talk about Mel…”

A story of redemption, but for whom?  A potential comeback for Mel Gibson or a decent war film marred by an overtly religious message? Read the ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ review here. 

Hollywood has fallen out of love with Mel Gibson in a serious way over the last five years, and it isn’t hard to see why.  An ultra-conservative catholic who in the past has been accused of being racist, homophobic and antisemitic, and had been arrested for drink driving and suspected of domestic abuse?  Even with some serious PR spin, that would be a difficult one to market.  He hasn’t directed anything since ‘Apocalypto‘ which was released over a decade ago, and his last notable performance was 2011’s ‘The Beaver’ which was a commercial flop.

Beaver had just given Mel the latest box-office figures…

The failure of the ‘The Beaver‘ to garner any traction at the box officer was almost certainly down to what was happening to Gibson in public, which is a shame as it is one of his best roles.  Gibson gave an air of startling authenticity to proceedings as a man on the verge of a mental breakdown, losing his family and dealing with a whole host of inner demons.  Whilst there are some places where the film falls flat, it is a reminder of what Mel Gibson the actor can do given the right conditions.  However it seems that all is not lost as Mel Gibson is back in the director’s chair this year, and if there is one thing that Hollywood loves almost as much as an underdog story, it would be a tale of comeback and redemption (for those of you don’t remember, reacquaint yourselves with what Robert Downey Jr. was up to in the late 90’s).  ‘The Beaver‘ might well have been the start of that comeback, but it came too hot on the heels of the latest batch of allegations to do him any good.

But five years have now passed and whilst no one is immediately forgiving him, Mel Gibson is getting a second chance and boy did he pick one hell of a comeback project.  ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ is based on the unbelievable yet true story of Desmond Doss, a pacifist who voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 in order to serve his country in the Pacific, but purely as a medic and not to fight.  Whilst he believed the war was just, as a Seventh-day Adventist he refused to take an enemy life or pick up a rifle even in self defence. He not only survived the war, but he ended up winning the congressional Medal of Honor for a series of heroic acts that are simply too numerous to list.  Some people get medals for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or by their own admission by being reckless or simply unaware of the danger they were in.  Whatever you take away from this or the film, be under no illusion that Doss exhibited true heroism and bravery.  He deliberately and knowingly put himself in harms way countless times in order to serve and protect the men around him.  He chose to sign up, chose to be a front-line medic and chose not to arm himself.  Not only that, but he fought for the right to be allowed to do it.

Private Desmond Doss

Doss’s story had been stuck in ‘development hell’ for a considerable length of time, and the rights to his story had been sold and resold to numerous studios, but a documentary of his life was finally made in 2004.  Shortly after it was completed, Doss passed away at the age of 87.  He received a full military burial, somewhat ironically given his refusal to carry a weapon, with a 21-gun salute.  Some of the footage from that documentary poignantly makes up the final moments of ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ in a way that is reminiscent of ‘Band of Brothers‘.  Over the next decade the options for a film kept resurfacing, but restrictions on the rating meant that only a PG-13 version was being considered.  Fast forward to the end of 2014 and it was announced that a film was finally entering production, with Mel Gibson back in the directing chair and Andrew Garfield playing Doss.  Not everyone was convinced with either Gibson or Garfield however.  At this point Garfield was best known for playing Mark Zuckerberg’s business partner, Eduardo Saverin, in ‘The Social Network‘ and as Tobey Maguire’s successor in the ‘Spiderman‘ franchise.  He was far from the kind of A-list name that is usually required to spark serious interest in a film.  The film was eventually financed by IM Global, a relative newcomer to the market who are known for taking risks that other more established names wouldn’t look at.  Initially only North American distribution rights were secured.  Clearly the rest of the world wasn’t enamoured with the idea of a U.S. focused WW2 film with religious overtones, directed by a controversial and out of practice actor, and starring an unknown quantity.

The filming started at the end of September 2015 and took place entirely in Australia with a modest budget of $45 million.  Antipodean actors such as Hugo Weaving and Sam Worthington filled in some of the key supporting cast, and although still reeling from a problematic and heavily criticised attempt at a dramatic turn in the second series of ‘True Detective‘, Vince Vaughn landed the role of Sergeant Howell.  As a result ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ flew under the radar of many, and wasn’t taken seriously by most until the first trailer hit the internet.  Suddenly the world was starting to take notice.  The Venice Film Festival premiered the film at the start of September and it was well received.  Seriously well received.  It got a 10-minute standing ovation.  The ‘O’ word had begun to be mentioned in hushed tones.  The buzz had begun.

“Everything seems to be going fine. Just don’t give him any more gin”

Empire Live 2016 was Empire Magazine‘s first film festival. A weekend of previews, workshops and live events hosted at the O2 at the end of September, including Q&As, sing-a-longs and even a ‘Ghostbusters’ “slime-a-long”.  With all the excitement surrounding ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘, it was put into the program and announced with only a few days to go.  Despite not yet having a UK release date, or even a distributor, a cinema full of lucky people got to see it 6 weeks before it is released in the US and Australia, and probably 6 months before it arrives here.

So, is it actually any good?  As odd as it sounds, standing ovations at film festivals like Venice are quite common.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they are worth your hard earned money or even awards.  Does ‘Hacksaw Ridge ‘ live up to the growing hype? Follow the link below to our review…

‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ – The Bare Arms Review