Hacksaw Ridge
starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths and Vince Vaughn
screenplay by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight
directed by Mel Gibson
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
A war biography, based on the true story of Desmond T. Doss. Also based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector, a 2004 documentary about Doss’s life. The film focuses on the World War II experiences of the devout Seventh Day Adventist from Lynchburg, Virginia. He was something of an anomaly in that he was an American pacifist combat medic who nevertheless was committed to serving his country, but in a non-combat capacity. (He was also a vegetarian.) He refused to carry or use a firearm or weapons of any kind. He suffered badly at the hands of his training officers and fellow recruits during basic training, but he persevered and went on to become the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for service above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Okinawa.
We see Doss's trials and tribulations after enlisting in the U.S. Army and trying to become a medic. Despite a United States Supreme Court ruling that conscientious objectors could not be punished for their pacifist beliefs, and also that they could not be subjected to physical force to change their views, and subsequent U.S. Army regulations allowing for pacifist non-conformity, Doss’s military unit labeled him a coward and tried to court martial him for his refusal to undergo rifle training. That attempt at court martial and discharge failed and Doss was finally allowed to train as a battlefield combat medic.
Finally, we see the hell on Earth that was Hacksaw Ridge during the Battle for Okinawa. Doss’s unit ascends a cliff face to access the battlefield above. (Today air cavalry would just chopper troops in.) There is extremely fierce resistance by Japanese who are, at last, fighting on their own soil. This is where the film gets incredibly graphic. After slow progress and heavy losses the Americans pull out, but in the confusion many wounded, and Doss himself, are left behind. Still under enemy fire, Doss proceeded to retrieve wounded from the battlefield, treat them, and lower them by rope to safety at the foot of the cliff. Doss has more courage than anyone else in his unit, and we have the satisfaction of seeing Sergeant and officers acknowledge it.
By the end, the film switches to archival photos and footage showing Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for rescuing 75 soldiers at Hacksaw Ridge. He died on March 23, 2006, at the age of 87.
The film is spectacularly graphic, violent and as realistic as current film technology can make it, like so many other recent WWII films have been. It was superb directing and cinematography. Whatever we might think of Mel Gibson as a person, I have to admit that he sure knows how to make a good film.
I think this is probably the first non-comedy role I have seen Vince Vaughn play. I was impressed with his portrayal of Doss’s basic training drill instructor, Sergeant Howell. Naturally, whenever we see a military drill instructor portrayed in the movies we immediately compare it to R. Lee Ermey’s high octane portrayal of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket (1987, directed by Stanley Kubrick). Like every drill instructor, every actor plays the role differently - Louis Gossett, Jr. as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Frank Sutton as Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter in the Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. TV series (1964 - 1969), Darren McGavin as Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Drake in Tribes (1970), Warren Oates as Sgt. First Class Hulka in Stripes (1981), Clancy Brown as Career Sgt. Zim in Starship Troopers (1997), or Al Williams as Sgt. Apone in Aliens (1986). Many think Lee Ermey’s Sgt. Hartman is the best. At first, I didn’t think I liked Sergeant Howell, but I changed my mind. Vince Vaughn did okay.