Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Mel Gibson opens Hacksaw Ridge with a simple, sweet, romantic first half, and I didn’t expect that to hit as hard as it does. Looking back, it’s bittersweet, because every quiet moment sets up what these characters have to lose. By the time the war arrives, I care about the people being shot and torn apart, so the second half feels more harrowing than any battle film I’ve watched in a while. The violence pushes close to horror territory, and it’s difficult to sit through, but that’s the point.

Andrew Garfield gives a performance I’d put among the strongest of his career. He plays Desmond Doss as one of the most humble, unassuming heroes I’ve seen on screen, and he never lets the character tip into saintly caricature. Gibson’s direction is unflinching, and it’s unmistakably his. He does sometimes go too far, and one moment with a body used as a shield is hard to forgive, but I admire the commitment. This is a film about a gentle man, and it isn’t a gentle film. I’d call it a profoundly moving picture, even if it isn’t flawless.