Hacksaw Ridge

The scale of the movie Hacksaw Ridge is something that could definitely change your perception of looking at wars. Mel Gibson’s utterly uncompromised making takes this movie to a different level of presentation of war violence and I had tears in my eyes towards those climax portions. Based on the true story of Desmond Doss, this captivating war movie isn’t really a pattern real life story and that adds more beauty to it.

Desmond Doss is a Seventh Day Adventist who decided to join the army during World War 2. His father who served the country earlier never wanted Doss or his brother to join the army and despite that entire objection, Doss decided to join army. His beliefs again made problems as he was against the usage of guns and he wanted to be a medic in the battlefield. The miraculous work Doss managed to do in his first assigned operation without guns are what Hacksaw Ridge telling us.

Don’t take your kid to watch this movie as even the boldest of people would find it very difficult to look at the screen post interval (Yup, they have “officially” sliced the movie very brutally). Soldiers getting shot in the face, loosing legs in the blast, dead bodies that can’t be even looked at, rats eating the bodies etc. are some of the things I could tell you in order to explain the level of brutality shown in this movie. So if you have any issue of seeing a little bit of blood, don’t even watch the trailer of this movie. Much like any real life story there isn’t a big message driving the film. The peculiarity of the character and what he manages to do within that limitation is what makes this movie an absorbing content.

Mel Gibson who has made visually stunning films earlier, shows no mercy in Hacksaw Ridge. Everything looks brutally real and he makes sure that we as viewers are right in the center of the chaos. The clichéd “American Greatness” is minimal and the emphasis is largely on the brutal side of war. The visuals are pretty much in the zone of what we have seen in films like Saving Private Ryan. Without much of a speech, the narrative establishes the proven fact that compassion can make a difference in the world. Simon Duggan’s frames and method of capturing war moments makes the movie all the more riveting. The special effects, make up, CG works etc. gives an impressive overall output. Having that continuity of the three dimensional space is a tough task in films where the camera and characters are in mayhem and still John Gilbert managed to chisel it elegantly.

Andrew Garfield looks perfect to play the lean skinny Desmond Doss. His face has that required level of innocence and his terrific portrayal had the earnestness the film demanded. The elaborate cast has names like Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer and many more in pivotal roles. But one guy who grabbed my attention was Hugo Weaving who played the role of our hero’s father. The vulnerability of that father was portrayed beautifully by him.

So to conclude, Hacksaw Ridge definitely has a slot in my heart for its honest making. Those of us who scream on Facebook to go ahead with war and teach the enemy a lesson must watch this film from theater and seeing all that in the big screen will surely have an impact on you.

Rating: 4/5