Movie Review: "Unbroken"

Unbroken

Directed by: Angelina Jolie

Starring: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garret Hedlund, Jai Courtney

Rated: PG-13 for war violence including intense sequences of brutality, and for brief language

Ever since I read Zamperini’s autobiography back in the early 2000s (I first heard his story back in 1998), I’ve dreamed of making his story into a film.  Over the years, I’ve done imaginary castings of the film, and, while in college, I even started (never finished) several drafts of the screenplay.  Thanks to Laura Hildenbrand’s book Unbroken, Zamperini’s story returned to the spotlight, and within a few years of it’s release, Angelina Jolie had turned the film into a highly anticipated motion picture.

On paper and on screen, Unbroken is good movie; newcomer Jack O’Connell is terrific, as is Garret Hedlund and Domhnall Gleeson.  Roger Deakin’s cinematography is, once again, beautiful, and Alexandre Desplat’s minimalist score also worked.  Jolie struggled a bit with the tone of the movie, having it come across too much like an inspirational Disney film, and it didn’t help that the screenplay (partially written by the Coen brothers) and editing was a bit sloppy at moments.  However, my biggest issue with the film was not in the components; it’s still a good film and the depictions were really spot on, yet something was missing; it’s the emotional core of Hildenbrand’s book and Louie’s story.

Many people have had incredible survival stories, like Dieter Dengler in Rescue Dawn or Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist.  Survival stories are cinematic, but often can’t find the emotional connection to the audience.  Many critics are rightful saying the same about Unbroken; that it’s nothing more than two hours of Zamperini surviving brutality.  While interesting, it’s not a moving experience.  The reason Zamperini’s story and Hildenbrand’s book worked so well is because, after all that he went through, he came back and forgave those people who mistreated him.  This is the emotional center of the story.  This is what truly mystifies us.  We are moved because we go through far less and yet still hold on to our hate, only to be mesmerized that Zamperini hugged his former guards and told them he loved them.  The forgiveness that he and his guards experienced is what inspires us to live better each day.  This is why he went through what he went through.  This was the message of his story.

Some Christians are attacking the film for cutting out his post-war life, claiming Hollywood tried to cut out his Christianity.  I completely disagree; there is a lot about faith and God in the film.  And, to be fair, this is a difficult story to tell.  They cut out a lot of the story, beyond just his conversion: there was no Cynthia, or James Sasaki, or his meeting with Adolph Hitler.  Jolie and crew focused on Louie’s survival, which is the visually interesting part of his story.  If that is the full story, then it must end where it did.  If it were to focus on his forgiveness, than far more attention would have to go to post-war, and some of the details of pre-war and his time as a POW would have to fall by the wayside, and the entire tone and pace of the movie would be different.  It’s all in what the story is about; survival or forgiveness?

I’ve thought a lot about Louie’s story.  (Probably too much.)  And even some of what Louie went through has lost it’s affect on me over the years.  But, to this day, I still feel emotional when I hear Louie, in his letter to The Bird, tell him that “love replaced the hate that I had for you.”  This is what is inspirational about Zamperini and, unfortunately, that was the message the movie was lacking.

Movie Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by: Chris Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, 
Morgan Freeman,Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, 
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

Rated: PG-13 forintense sequences of violence and action, 
some sensuality, and language

Seven years after his first reboot of the Batman franchise, Chris Nolan brings the popular series to close with his third installment, The Dark Knight Rises.  While most (including myself) thought it would be difficult to top the scale and power of the second film, The Dark Knight, the brilliant director avoids trying to make just a bigger and better version of The Dark Knight altogether, and makes Rises possibly the most unique super hero film to date, so much so that you almost forget it’s even about a comic-book hero.  It’s set in realism, it’s complex, it’s a epic in scale, and it’s a lot of fun.  Not that everything is perfect; there are way too many characters, a lot less depth, and it’s missing the sharp script-work of the first two installments.  It’s also a little more far-fetched than Dark Knight, though still more grounded than Batman Begins.  The acting is also perhaps a little stale at times, considering Tom Hardy’s Bane is limited to almost Darth Vader-like performances, Marion Cotillard lacked a real connection with her character, and Anne Hathaway’s Selena Kyle lacked a lot of mystery, though that was more fault of the script than her performance.

But the great certainly outweighs the bad; Michael Caine and Joseph Gordon-Levitt shine as the emotional centerpieces of the film, connecting the audience emotionally to the events on screen.  Editor Lee Smith and composer Hans Zimmer are perfect in pacing the film’s plot and emotional ride.  Like most of Nolan’s films, Rises doesn’t rely on many CG elements, making the police versus mercenary battle at the end all the more mesmerizing.  The Batman and Bane fights are also terrific, and the ending sequence is perhaps the best closing I’ve seen to any trilogy, wrapping the storylines, characters, themes, and movies all together perfectly.  You can’t help get chills when Selena tells Batman that he has given everything to Gotham, and doesn’t owe them any more.  “Not everything,” the beaten Dark Knight replies, “not yet.”  The self-sacrifice of Bruce Wayne has an impact more powerful than the work he did inside the batsuit; he leaves a legacy that inspires people to do good beyond any logic or reward it may bring.  For that reason, I’m sad to see Nolan’s Dark Knight go.