(rated R, 2 hrs 40 mins)
This epic ain’t no ‘Braveheart’ though I think it tries to be (sung with Scottish conviction) ‘blood and gore give me some more!” The story opens with Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) as a widowed father of seven, who talks to his deceased wife “the north star”. His biggest concern (in those fist-shaking colonist town meetings) is ‘who will care for them if I go to war?’ He’s a man who believes “I’m a parent. I haven’t got the luxury of principals” when it comes to the Revolution. Oldest son Gabrielle disagrees with old dad and shows up musket ready. Gabrielle is flawlessly played by Heath Ledger, with the same looks and passion as Patrick Swayze in “North and South”. (Different war of course.) Unfortunately Gabrielle’s passion domino effects an unexpected tragedy that fires off Mel to become “the ghost” – the phantom head of a militia, formed by local beer guzzling buddies. The blood baths and amputations keep the tale grounded, but it’s silly things like when Gabrielle comes home bleeding heavily somebody says “you were there?” No, it’s a mosquito bite. Of course he was there! These lines cause the revolution to seem almost artificial although the story line does stick to historical accuracy. The tragedies are the worst, mainly because they involve the innocent. The one thing that rings true is grade school history lessons where we learned that the colonists beat the red coats simply because the Brits marched in straight rows, while our men jumped around in the woods and lay low to the ground. The visuals depict this memory well. They may have lost the war, but in this movie the red coats were the most convincing actors. Colonel William Tavington (Jason Isaacs) commands the unit and is deadpan stern as Gibson’s greatest rival. Especially well received and humorous is Tom Wilkinson as General Cornwallis. But, it’s Joely Richardson that annoyed me as the children’s Aunt Charlotte (sister to the deceased mother) who needed a life already! It’s a little too long but time will move quickly as the cinematography (all shades of blues with the occasional red and white for patriotic effect) is gently accompanied by the intense sounds of John Williams music.
