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The Patriot arrived in theaters just in time for the Fourth of July. But make no mistake... this is no vague or symbolic flag-waving, feel-good kind of film. It is a bloody reminder of the horrors and sacrifices of war and the internal conflicts raging within the principled men who fight them for causes in which they deeply believe. Even before its world premiere, The Patriot has become the center of not one, but two, swirling controversies. Because the movie depicts children shooting rifles, it has come under fire by certain anti-gun groups. And, because the main character is a fictionalized representation of Francis Marion, who has been confirmed as a racist by historians, questions have been raised about the film's choice of a protagonist. Perhaps these two issues will add a little spark to the general release of The Patriot, because based on content alone there's not much to get excited about. This is a derivative and relentlessly mediocre motion picture. To date, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin have been involved in a trio of profitable but creatively bankrupt enterprises. All three - Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla - are self-styled science fiction epics that have struggled to find a minute's worth of compelling or original material. Characters have been built from stereotypes and clichés and nearly every plot development has been lifted from another film. The Patriot represents a distinct change-of-pace for Emmerich and Devlin, moving them away from space ships and giant monsters and into the realm of historical re-construction. Unfortunately, this shift of genre hasn't heralded much in the way of a storytelling improvement. The Patriot suffers from a series of potentially fatal flaws: poor character development, a lack of tension, stifling strains of political correctness, a rambling screenplay, manipulative and emotionally untrue "big moments", and wretched pacing. During roughly the last decade, there have been a number of powerful and memorable Civil War-era films (including Glory, Dances With Wolves, and Gettysburg), but correspondingly few representations of the time of the Revolutionary War. The last major motion picture set in North America during the 1700s was 1992's The Last of the Mohicans, a rousing adventure that transpired during the so-called French-and-Indian War. Those who hoped The Patriot might finally offer a grand epic during the American Revolution are likely to be disappointed. Compared to any recent battle-drenched epic, whether it's Braveheart, Glory, Gettysburg, Mohicans, or Saving Private Ryan , The Patriot does not hold up well. With Mel Gibson's name on the marquee, comparisons with Braveheart are unavoidable. In fact, the role of Benjamin Martin appears to be an attempt to find another William Wallace-like part for the high profile actor. Unfortunately, drenching Gibson in blood and sending him on a mission of revenge against an overwhelming force doesn't guarantee a repeat success. Braveheart was the complete package - an engrossing story filled with well-realized characters and punctuated with tense, rousing battle sequences. In The Patriot, Gibson's protagonist is half developed, the storyline is poorly focused, and the battles, while produced with technical proficiency, are largely impersonal and uninteresting. If Gibson was aiming for the same Bullseye he struck with Braveheart , he missed wide of the mark. The Patriot opens in 1776 South Carolina. In the north, lightning from the storm clouds of war against the Crown has already touched off brush fires. The Colonies are calling, are searching for volunteers to join the regular army. Benjamin Martin, the legendary "Hero of Fort Wilderness" and now a farmer, makes his reservations about the Revolution known in public: "This war will be fought not on some distant frontier but among us, among our homes." His patriotic son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), dishonored by his father's reticence, joins with an enthusiasm for the cause that Martin does not feel. Soon, however, an engagement occurs in a field on the Martin farm. When, in the wake of the conflict, Martin is found to have aided wounded rebels (as well as injured British soldiers), his house is burned to the ground. Gabriel is arrested and taken to be hanged. Martin's second eldest son, Thomas (Gregory Smith), is slain by the cold-hearted Col. William Tavington (Jason Isaacs). This act of savagery brings Martin into the war with a fury, accepting a command from Col. Harry Burwell (Chris Cooper) to lead the local militia in guerilla-type attacks against British targets. Soon known as "the ghost", he becomes a growing threat to the Redcoats - so much so, in fact, that no less a personage than General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) orders that any and all means be used to capture Martin. Most war films, no matter what their setting, build gradually to a momentous climax. This doesn't happen during The Patriot. There is a big skirmish at the end, but it doesn't seem like the culmination of all that has preceded it. Great battle scenes in movies stir the blood; this one left me cold. Overall, the pacing is uneven and the tone monotonous. With only a couple of exceptions, Emmerich fails to generate tension. Consequently, the film threatens to bore. When an historical epic places the audience under its spell, the running length becomes irrelevant. But, as in The Patriot, when we remain outsiders looking in while fidgeting in our seats, 162 minutes seems like an inordinately long time. The Patriot was written by Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and brought to the screen by the director-producer team of Roland Emmerich, and Dean Devlin (they collaborated on Independence Day and the recent re-make of Godzilla ). This makes for an unlikely, but generally fruitful pairing. True, some of Rodat's modern revisionist tendencies, such as laboriously showing how a bigoted white soldier learns to feel honored fighting next to a freed slave, push the narrative further than it can go. Overall, though, he has crafted a good script that allows for the strengths of all involved to be flexed: Gibson gets to play up his tragic rage and Emmerich gets to stage huge, special-effects-laden battle sequences that are filled with the kind of blood and gore that was only implied in his less-serious disaster movies. If the film runs a tad long, Emmerich makes up for it by maintaining a good pace. He alternates constantly between melodrama and visceral violence, which keeps the film moving, but never allows it to really find its footing. If there's a weakness, the film feels slightly off-balance. There is rarely a moment during the whole running time when the audience is not meant to be in some kind of emotional upheaval, whether that be sadness or vicarious exhilaration. Being a war film, The Patriot has its share of vicious
bloodshed - a soldier's head being torn off by a cannonball, lines of
soldiers dropping like flies as they move in regimented suicide toward
blazing muskets, an entire village being burned alive inside a locked
church. After all, working with Rodat and Gibson, Emmerich is
essentially forced into the position of competing with the undeniable
physical impact of both Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan ,
two movies that literally hit you at gut level
Art & Entertainment |
By Bourja
Saeed
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