Two Oscar nominees and a film with an Oscar-nominated acting nomination are the highlights of the week.
Mel Gibson has always been a crafty moviemaker, combining spectacle, entertainment value and, yes, heart. His latest, “Hacksaw Ridge,” is a case in point. It’s the story of Desmond Doss (played with sincerity by Andrew Garfield), a conscientious objector who was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat during World War II.
Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist who refused to carry a gun, served as an Army medic in the Battle of Okinawa, and what he did was extraordinary by any standard. Instead of leading up to the heroics, Gibson opens with a graphic war scene. This is not “Sergeant York,” the Howard Hawks 1941 film about another Army hero who started out as a pacifist before picking up a rifle.
So before given a taste of the sleepy Virginia burg that Doss is from, Gibson gives us a taste of blood. We see the boy (played by Darcy Bryce) grow up to be a man. His father, a World War I veteran (Hugo Weaving), hates war, but is an alcoholic and aggressive toward his son. His mother (Rachel Griffiths), though, helps steer her son toward religion and a peaceful life. Doss even chastely courts a young woman (Teresa Palmer) and marries.
War happens and despite refusing to pick up a gun, he goes through basic training. There everyone is suspicious of him, including his drill sergeant (Vince Vaughn) and commanding officer (Sam Worthington). Soon enough, Gibson has us back in combat.
“Hacksaw Ridge” is one of those war films that tries to have it both ways. While it shows the brutality in the trenches and Doss’s moral dilemma, the vividness in the way it is depicted dulls the effect.
‘Manchester by the Sea’
Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” is a reference to the town of that name north of Boston. The area is often gray and the people are reluctant to show emotion, at least in this film. Casey Affleck plays a Boston janitor named Lee Chandler, who we see early on has issues, getting into fights for no reason. When his brother (Kyle Chandler) dies, he returns home for the funeral, and he finds he has been made guardian for his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). It’s a role he doesn’t want but reluctantly takes, planning to take Patrick back to Boston but the teen rebels. He has a life in the town, hockey, girlfriend and plays in a band. As the two battle and haltingly deal with grief and the logistics of death, flashbacks tell how Lee became so beaten down. Not surprisingly, his tragedy is of his own making.
“Manchester by the Sea” isn’t a grim as it sounds. Lonergan has an ability to wring humor out of darkness. Affleck’s performance is commendable, but for a man as tamped down as Lee is, it’s easy to read too much into every little moment. Hedges, though, shines.
‘Nocturnal Animals’
Amy Adams could have easily gotten an Oscar nomination for Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals” and “Arrival.” In Ford’s complicated, atmospheric mystery, Adams plays Susan, who runs a trendy L.A. art gallery.
One day, a novel written by her ex-husband arrives at her door. After dealing with her current husband, Hutton (Armie Hammer), she reads the novel, which is dedicated to her.
The film then moves into the story in the novel about a family driving through West Texas one evening when they are set upon by a gang, led by a sadist named Ray (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). They beat up the father (Jake Gyllenhaal) and make off with the mother and daughter (Isla Fisher and Ellie Bamber).
The violence upsets Susan; so she stops reading. Then she finds life just as daunting, and returns to the book, which his filled with twists and turns. One dark episode features Michael Shannon, who did pick up an Oscar nomination as best-supporting actor.
“Nocturnal Animals” has a lot in it to be admired — certainly the acting and many of the scenes. However, it ends up being more of a sprawl than fitting together.
