Hacksaw Ridge is the story of an Army Medic Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who was the first to ever receive the Medal of Honor for bravery without having fired a single shot. His father Tom (Hugo Weaving) fought in World War I and raised his sons Desmond and Hal to be seekers of peace and to never raise a weapon. The War took its toll on Tom who turned to drinking and was often violent with his family. Things got even tougher for Tom when both of his sons enlisted in the army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launching the United States into World War II.
Desmond did not get along with his superiors in training due to his opposition to guns and killing. Refusing to train on Saturdays as it is the Sabbath, didn't earn him any popularity points with his fellow trainees. Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) makes his training as hellish as possible and he is beaten in his barracks by the other soldiers who view his conscientious objections as cowardice. But Desmond did not give up their names when asked who attacked him. He took everything they threw at him and persevered. The day the squad was released from training, Desmond was arrested for his insubordination making him miss his own wedding day. Only the testimony of his father saved him from a court martial.
Desmond's stand against the war continued in Okinawa, Japan as he refused to take up a weapon against the enemy, even though he believed their cause was just. Instead, he regularly risked his own life, unarmed, to aid his wounded brothers away from the front lines to get medical attention. In all, Desmond rescued over 75 men without ever firing a shot.
Hacksaw Ridge marks Mel Gibson's return to the Director's chair after a ten year hiatus after Apocalypto in 2006 and The Passion of the Christ in 2004. Hacksaw Ridge has been nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year, Best Leading Actor (Andrew Garfield) and Best Director (Mel Gibson). Gibson 2 for 2 in Oscar wins, both for Braveheart in 1996 that earned him the Best Picture of the Year and Best Director. Hacksaw Ridge looks like yet another installment in brutally graphic, tragically realistic, touching and character-driven movies in Gibson's repertoire. I was concerned about Andrew Garfield in this role. He started gaining major recognition with his role in The Social Network in 2010 followed by a reprized role as Peter Parker / Spider-man in two Spider-man movies. But this is quite a different role for Garfield. Most of my trepidation subsided by watching the preview. I was also more than just a little unsure about Shia LaBeouf in Man Down, but he absolutely slayed that performance in my opinion. Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, and pretty much everyone else who's opinion matters saw it differently, so I could also be wrong about this role for Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge. Though he seems to be getting a much warmer reception. I'm also concerned about Vince Vaughn in this very heavy movie. I love him in his comedies, but he failed to impress in the second season of True Detective. Granted, everyone failed to impress in that series follow-up, but particularly Vaughn who wasn't very convincing in his dramatic role.
That being said, early comments on the film, the notoriety of Gibson's work and the preview make me very optimistic for Hacksaw Ridge, so I'm giving it an anticipatory 4.0 Star Prediction. I think it will be well worth the money in the theatre, hopefully worth the 6 nominations, and a contender for a spot in my home collection. Am I right? We shall see.
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