Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge has a lot riding on it. It marks the return of controversial filmmaker Mel Gibson to directing, it’s a story that many have tried to put on the big screen for decades, it’s been receiving rave early reviews, and its strategically poised at the start of Oscars season.

Desmond Ross (Andrew Garfield) is a devout Seventh-day Adventist, which prevents him from harming another being and renders him a conscientious objector. He and his brother Hal (Nathaniel Buzolic) live with their mother Bertha (Rachel Griffiths) and their father Tom (Hugo Weaving), who is an alcoholic clearly suffering from his time in the First World War. After helping a man who’d be pinned under a car get medical treatment, Desmond meets Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer), a nurse that he’s instantly smitten with. After Hal enlists in the army against the wishes of their father, Desmond decides that he also should enlist, intending to serve as a field medic that would never have to touch a gun. However, things don’t work that smoothly in the army, and Desmond encounters opposition to his beliefs at all levels of the military, fighting his own battle before he’s even given permission to serve his part in the war.

For all the hype and opinion around Hacksaw Ridge, perhaps it's best to first address its issues. For a start, there’s an abundance of slow-motion work all throughout, which can come off as pretty heavy-handed stylism. There’s also several moments of surprisingly poor CGI, particularly the explosions and even with things as simple as background compositing. It’s worth noting that the film had significant production challenges, being independently produced by several companies, but in this day and age that’s no excuse for sub-par technical qualms. Though by far the biggest weakness of Hacksaw Ridge is its first act, where it takes us to his childhood, then explains his family situation, explores his enlistment challenges and religious views, all whilst mixing in this extremely ‘classical Hollywood’ love story. It becomes overwhelming and feels like we’re about to watch another ‘this-is-your-life’ rushed Oscars-season biopic. But then everything changes when we’re dumped into the main act; arriving at Hacksaw Ridge, and the contrast between this hour-long cliched opener and the horror that’s about to unfold couldn’t be greater.

The first battle sequence hits you like a brick wall, just as the Saving Private Ryan opener did eighteen years ago - only this time there’s no refuge from nearly an hour of horrific, unbelievably gory action. There’s been a lot of talk about this film glorifying violence, and whilst Gibson might be overly ambitious with his slow-motion coverage and CGI fireballs, anybody that could consider what unfolds as ‘glorious’ needs to have their head checked. This main body of the film is incredibly visceral, it’s where Hacksaw Ridge finally comes together and decimates you with some of the most intense war-scenes ever put to the screen. Subtlety is not a word that should ever be associated with this film but the battle sequences are damn effective.

However, Hacksaw Ridge doesn’t exactly break new ground for the war film genre, in fact it fits in closer with the massive Hollywood war-romance classics of yesteryear than it does to almost any equivalent modern war film. In that regard, Teresa Palmer’s performance feels a bit like a really toned-down Scarlett O’Hara and Rachel Griffiths epitomises the grieving mother who’s family has been torn apart by war. Andrew Garfield is superb in the leading role, and brings gently-voiced compassion to Desmond.

Luke Bracey plays the typical douche-bag semi-antagonist that typically roams the barracks of these sorts of films, but at least it’s a whole lot better than his role in the Point Break remake. Sam Worthington is pretty dry as Captain Glover but he doesn’t receive much screen time, whereas Vince Vaughn makes the most of his role as the stern Sergeant Howell, weaving in just the right amount of humour to what is his most serious performance to date. Hugo Weaving was by far the standout of the film, and whilst he’s only really on-screen in the opening act, his performance as the clearly conflicted, demoralised alcoholic father is up there with some of his extremely difficult to beat previous roles. It was also hilarious to have good ol’ Richard Roxburgh appear briefly as a psychiatrist, trying to hide all the charisma and charm that he has behind a questionable moustache. I see you there Roxburgh...

Hacksaw Ridge might not be fully deserving of the incredible praise it’s receiving - particularly due to a handful of technical issues/stylistic choices and a dreary opening act - but the performances, incredible battle sequences and the heroics of Desmond T. Doss all make this well worth a viewing.

The Water Diviner

An Australian film that mostly takes place in Turkey, directed by and starring Russell Crowe, 

produced by the Seven Network, and executive produced by James Packer and Brett Ratner. The Water Diviner causes doubts before it's post-Gallipoli drama even begins, so how is it after the opening credits roll?

Crowe plays Joshua Connor, a Victorian farmer looking for water during a dry spell in 1919. After striking a new well, he returns home to his wife who is both grief-stricken and in denial since their sons were reported Killed In Action on the shores of Gallipoli four years earlier. The next day, she drowns herself and Connor vows to bury their sons bones next to her. He embarks a ship bound for Constantinople/Istanbul, and through a series of official refusals, cultural misunderstandings and morbid determination he meets Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a widowed hotel owner who refuses to accept her husbands wartime death to herself or her son,  Yilmaz Erdogan's Major Hassan who was the man in charge of the defence of Gallipoli from the ANZAC's and is forever haunted by the devastation of the war, and Jai Courtney's diplomatic Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Hughes, who is charge of the Australian military grave detail and determined to run things as smoothly as possible. During his travels to and beyond Gallipoli, Joshua reminisces about his sons childhoods and imagines their battles and fates away from him.

                              

                                               "Where I come from hope is a necessity."

The Water Diviner is not a bad film, not by any stretch. In fact, it's portrayal of the experiences of the ANZAC's and Turkish soldiers of Gallipoli is brutal and brilliant, and of enemies becoming friends is undeniably heartwarming. It's clear that Crowe's more than 25 years of experience with a wealth of talented local and international filmmakers has given him a leg-up of knowledge as he sits in the directors chair, and he has a lot of potential in this role. The lion's share of fault lies with the script, and some poor decisions in the direction. Connor's wife (Jaqueline Mackenzie) has four lines before she commits suicide, and most of them are non-senisical ramblings from a distraught mother. Additionally, Arthur is the only of the son's ever given more than one real scene in the film. One is shown more as a corpse than he is alive, and the other is only really present during one of the most dramatic moments. The pace at which the moments of establishing a connection not just between the Joshua and his family, but the audience as well, is brief, rushed and often involves poor or cliched dialogue. The film's title leaves much to be desired but it's near-magical tones relate to a frustrating and over-looked aspect of Crowe's character. Connor's love and determination manifest in moments of character development or plot advancement that border on literal magic. We see the tools he uses to find water at the beginning, but when he later describes the process to the young Orhan (Dylan Georgiades) the dialogue is muted and the scene becomes a slightly absurd moment of amusement, and when he searches for his sons, his dream and his intuition lead him to know where they are and it is constantly question and never explained. It could be implied that it's a fathers intuition, but it's more like the character just read the script.

The last scenes of the Water Diviner are by far the most disappointing, after a strong opening and engaging second act. It can really only be described as a okay-enough anti-climax followed by a sweet and happy ending with the weakest performances so far by the male actors. Corr is utterly underwhelming and devoid of all the charm or personality of  the rest of his performance, and it is just indicative of a poor choice. He's injured, though not particularly shell-shocked by his experiences so it makes little sense for his character to be so devoid of emotion, but perhaps a scene was cut. And his father is more emotionally affected at being reunited with Ayshe than he is his own son, though the love story angle between these two widowers is far too forced to begin with. His wife commited suicide weeks earlier and Ayshe cannot admit to her son, her brother-in-law, Connor or even herself that her husband is dead, and yet soon falls for Connor, a man old enough to be her father and who shows little interest in her romantically.

However, the film itself is beautiful to look at, and as an actor-director Crowe gets some very good performances. Jai Courtney puts on one of his best performances seen so far, and Turkish actor Yilmaz Erdogan may only have one emotion (somberness), but he plays it well. His Sergeant and companion played by Cem Yilmaz is much more of a rounded character who may or may not have fought directly against Connor's sons. Crowe as Connor is not any kind of badass or genius, but simply a determined man who occassionally employs some kind of magic. Whilst the pace was often too fast, the first act of the Water Diviner is excellently arranged, beginning with the retreat of the ANZAC's from Gallipoli from the Turkish perspective and then changing to Connor digging a well in the bush in Victoria four years later. Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie (LOTR & The Hobbit films, The Lovely Bones, Bran Nue Dae) captures some gorgeous and harrowing cinematography, at times utlising birds-eye-view shots to great effect. The battle scenes often disrupt moments of quiet reflection for Connor, haunting him. This effect of editing, and the scenes themselves are simply brilliant. The fights are full of heroism and brutality, though with little to no gore, and focus primarily on the brothers. Whether they're harrowing or heroic, these are the best moments in the entire film.

As much as this is a film about and dedicated to the ANZAC's, it's mostly about the mending of pains and grievances after a war. There's a focus on the occupation of Turkey and the late addition of Greek antagonists that certainly cause sympathies as it is comparable of the carving up of Germany post-World War Two. There's careful respects paid to the dead of both sides (though obviously Australia with more reverence) but the film is not afraid to meet the honouring of Australia's dead with the reminder that many Turks were defending an invasion. Upon reflection, most real malice, hatred or blame is relegated within two minor characters on either side. This emphasis on healing wounds in a post-war period is another area where the film shines, and leaving some of these conflicts unresolved is oddly satisfying.

Featuring some excellent shots, a genuinely fascinating and relevant social context. mostly good performances and a surprisingly effective debut from it's director, The Water Diviner is a good way for Australian cinema to finish in 2014. It's high-range of emotions, brilliant battle sequences and spirit of forgiveness are reinforce it's colourful and diverse visuals and politics. The Water Diviner is worth the watch before New Year's.