Hacksaw Ridge (2016) ‘Mashup’ Review: A Hero’s Faith Against the Godlessness of Violence

Hacksaw Ridge (2016: The Hero of War

Review by Suvo Pyne

I have believed that, most of the time, in war, there are no heroes, only participants. But in Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, there is a hero. A hero in its truest sense. In 2016’s sensational film, La La Land, we saw how it is important never to let go of what you want or what you dream, even if the circumstances are trying. In Hacksaw Ridge, we see even in dire situations and in the face of dreadful consequences, how it is important to never let go of who you are.

In Hacksaw Ridge, the protagonist Desmond Doss reminds us that it is the belief, the ideology of a person and their actions that define them and not the fulfillment of norms. Based on true events, the film tells the story of an American man who becomes the first Conscientious Objector to win the Medal of Honor. To put it in simpler terms, Desmond Doss’s belief and conscience do not allow him to kill another human being, or even pick up a gun. He still enlists to serve as a combat medic.

What follows is a struggle. Both internal and external, Doss is subjected to humiliation, violence, and time in jail. There even comes a time when he had to choose between love and the belief that made him the person he is. But, his unfaltering energy and determination to stay true in its own eyes make him the hero that this film is celebrating.

Mel Gibson and writers Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan strike the perfect balance between a biographical drama and a war film. On one side, the battle scenes are shot exquisitely. Filled with realism and the horrors of war. Gibson doesn’t pull his punches in showing the harrowing brutality. The film would remind people of the battles in Saving Private Ryan or in the excellent mini-series Band of Brothers. On the other hand, there’s enough room in the film to explore the life of Doss. The relationship with his father, his love for his wife, all these beautifully depict the tenderness, the gentle yet resolute soul of Doss.

Andrew Garfield plays Desmond Doss, and I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job than him in this role. Garfield’s boyish charm reflects the character’s innocence. Be it when he flirts or when he refuses to carry firearms, he seems sincere and determined, and yet gentle and sweet. The film is buoyed by the heroism of the character of Desmond Doss, which in turn is buoyed by Garfield’s acting.

The chemistry between Garfield and Teresa Palmer, who plays Dorothy, Desmond’s wife, strikes an emotional chord enough to give a dramatic dimension to this film. Speaking of emotional bond, Hugo Weaving churns a top performance as Doss’ father. You feel the desperation and the frustration his character feels when his sons enlist in the army, as he had watched most of his friends die while serving himself. The supporting cast of the 77th Infantry Division, including Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, and Vince Vaughn, does well, too. Particularly Vaughn.

Mel Gibson directs this film after a gap of approximately 10 years, and it would appear that the time has not put rust on his directing mettle. Hacksaw Ridge is perhaps the best War film of this decade and certainly one of the finest of this genre.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016): Godlessness of Violence

Review by Kalpit Tandon

It rained like a grand meteor shower. As if fire has descended from the mighty skies to wreak havoc. The blood and ground became one, and staged upon them was the dance of madness in all its bloodcurdling horror and savagery. As the cavalry marched into Hacksaw Ridge, war became one with men. It penetrated their skins, hinged its claws behind their necks, and compelled their actions. It felt as if all of existence had collapsed into a single moment of warfare. And this moment is to last till eternity.

Hacksaw Ridge is an extremely difficult experience to process. It thwarts us with a loosely strung beginning and culminates as a catastrophically moving account. Based on a true story of a conscientious objector, Desmond T. Dos,s who saved 75 men during a battle in World War II, it plunges its hand deep into faiths and convictions. It pits valiance against violence and out emerges one true virtue, empathy.

Mel Gibson constructs the first half as a delicate entity, for he had reserved all hell for the meatier war scenes to grace later. Wearing the directorial crown after a hiatus of 10 years, Hacksaw Ridge seems like a deeply passionate ambition fired on all cylinders. Gibson beautifully parallels tender love emotions that sets heart rolling to the utter desolate chasms of war that take the best of men and alter their morals like nothing else.

Hacksaw Ridge is destruction personified. It weighs the fragility of life against the concreteness of faith. Mel Gibson has directed a vision of devastation so harrowing that it’ll make the bravest of our kind look away. It is powerfully disturbing and emotionally rousing in equal measures. Hacksaw Ridge builds a fountain of wisdom from the well of deeply spiritual questions while condemning the godlessness of violence to its core.

Your Next Read: 10 Best Andrew Garfield Performances

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Links: IMDb, Wikipedia