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Some movies are good because they are entertaining. Some movies
aren't entertaining, but they are still good because they have
a powerful and important message. The Patriot is not an entertaining
movie, and its message is a warped one of violence in the name
of 'patriotism'.
Box office 'A' list lock Mel Gibson is the main star in this
War of Independence drama. He plays Benjamin Martin, a former
war hero who has turned his back on the military in order to
devote his life to running his farm, looking after his 7 children,
and a quest to build the perfect rocking chair. Unfortunately
for Ben, a war is brewing between the American colonies and
the King of England. And Ben is set to be dragged into this
war whether he likes it or not. First, his eldest son Gabriel
signs up for the Continental army against his father's wishes.
Then as the war heats up and the Redcoat army starts marching
through his fields, Ben is forced to take up arms again to protect
his family.
This is where the movie starts to go off the rails somewhat.
From here the film becomes a two headed beast. On one level
it is a standard 'man seeking revenge' story. This type of movie
can be great, but only if it does not take itself seriously
(see Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando). But in The Patriot,
director Roland Emmerich is also trying to tell a story of the
American War of Independence, a story of how a bunch of men
sacrificed so much in the name of patriotism. But this is not
an easy thing to do (which is maybe why there have been so few
great movies about this era). The main problem is that the colonists
were not all 'good guys' and the English were not all 'bad guys'.
There's altogether too much flag waving in this film, and the
ridiculousness of the high ideals attributed to the Americans
is summarised by the 'stirring call to arms' spoken by Gabriel's
fiancee Ann when her townsfolk show reluctance to join the war.
Apart from the flawed message this movie broadcasts, there
are other niggles that add to the overall annoyance factor.
For one, there is the pointless romance between Ben and his
sister in law Charlotte (Joely Richardson). This adds nothing
to the story and only really serves to add the already hefty
160 minute running time. In addition, there's the hypocrisy
that it is OK to slaughter hundreds of men but forbidden to
lay a hand on a dog. And from a pure entertainment point of
view, there are too many strangely handled key character deaths
- we don't like to see main characters die, but if they must
die then at least make us sad to see them go. Finally, plenty
has already been said about the glossed over slavery issue,
my opinion is that if they weren't going to portray in accurately,
then it would have been better not have mentioned it all.
There are some cool scenes though. Ben's ambush on the Redcoats
in the forest was a much more exciting battle scene than the
overwrought 'climax'. John Williams' score is superb as always,
and the cinematography is suitably 'sweeping'. There is also
satisfaction to be gained from Heath Ledger's performance which
should see this young actor further along the path to stardom.
Overall, I found The Patriot to be unsatisfying. But at least
I've managed to get to the end of this review without making
any comparisons to Braveheart.
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