REVIEW: UNBROKEN
What a strange mindset the MPAA must have. I think back to one of my favorite movies of last year, Nebraska, and think; how did that film get an R-rating when it had maybe a handful of HBO words...and how did Unbroken, Angelina Jolie's second directorial effort, get a PG-13, when it has nearly if not more than the amount of torture in last year's Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave? Perhaps it's because you didn't see any blood gushing out, or any severe aftereffects like when Solomon Northup examined Patsy's slashed back, but please be warned parents to think twice before letting your 13 year old see this movie.
I wouldn't be such a stickler about this issue, especially violence, which doesn't usually bother me in a non-horror film, because the trailer was rather deceptive. I don't know about the life of Louis Zamperini (played by Jack O'Connell), just the articles I have read about him and the large press the film has received, mostly because of the woman backing it. The film, while also spending time documenting Zamperini's 47 day survival in the middle of the ocean, largely concerns his years spent in Japanese imprisonment camps. Scratch that. It largely concerns Zamperini being humiliated, beaten and suffering under the infliction of one Wantanabe, known by the inmates as the Bird (the acting debut of Japanese pop star Takamasa Ishihara, known better in his native country as Miyavi).
Yes, the movie does spend time on Zamperini's upbringing. He wasn't necessarily a troubled kid as much as he was a trouble maker, painting bottles white so it looked like he was drinking milk while he was drinking liquor, sneaking peeks under bleachers at a track meet, etc. Feeling directionless, his older brother helps guide him by helping him train to run. Zamperini was so good he made it to the Olympics, setting a record in the meantime! All interesting things right? Yes, and they are breezed over and SparkNoted in the film. How was it being in the Olympics? How rigorous was his training, and what impact did that have in his life? All questions blown off, and instead we see young Louis being spanked, a motive that will carry on for the rest of the movie.
What saves the movie is the intensity of the lost at sea scenes. Perhaps it's because they're reminiscent of Life of Pi, pitting man's instinct and survival techniques against the forces of nature, this time being a shark that scared the bejeezus out of my crowded screening. The chemistry between O'Connell and his raft mates Mac and Phil is solid, and you get a real feel of desperation. You absolutely get a feel of desperation in the torture scenes, there is no doubt, but it is endlessly repeated to where you either become numb to Zamperini's struggle or you just cringe with every blow. They gave little Louis maybe 10 minutes of screen time. They spend 10 alone on soldiers punching Louis in the face. This man lived three times as much than a normal man lives! I especially wanted more at the end, instead we get type cards telling us the aftermath of Louis' imprisonment.
I know it sounds like I'm ragging on the film, but that's because it had so much potential. Mr. Zamperini died this summer, making it all the more poignant. And I know Jolie, who still does an alright job directing considering the massive task of filming aerial fighting scenes, sea scenes (anyone who's scene the making of Jaws knows what a tremendous feat that is) and prison scenes. Miyavi is a great villain, a sadist who itches for someone to disrespect him so he can assert his dominance. But why this movie pushes my rating the extra half is O'Connell's performance. He takes his beatings as a billboard advertisement of his endurance, he's a loyal man, a patriot, and the core definition of a survivor. He keeps Unbroken afloat when it becomes one note, and the Academy should take notice.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
I wouldn't be such a stickler about this issue, especially violence, which doesn't usually bother me in a non-horror film, because the trailer was rather deceptive. I don't know about the life of Louis Zamperini (played by Jack O'Connell), just the articles I have read about him and the large press the film has received, mostly because of the woman backing it. The film, while also spending time documenting Zamperini's 47 day survival in the middle of the ocean, largely concerns his years spent in Japanese imprisonment camps. Scratch that. It largely concerns Zamperini being humiliated, beaten and suffering under the infliction of one Wantanabe, known by the inmates as the Bird (the acting debut of Japanese pop star Takamasa Ishihara, known better in his native country as Miyavi).
Yes, the movie does spend time on Zamperini's upbringing. He wasn't necessarily a troubled kid as much as he was a trouble maker, painting bottles white so it looked like he was drinking milk while he was drinking liquor, sneaking peeks under bleachers at a track meet, etc. Feeling directionless, his older brother helps guide him by helping him train to run. Zamperini was so good he made it to the Olympics, setting a record in the meantime! All interesting things right? Yes, and they are breezed over and SparkNoted in the film. How was it being in the Olympics? How rigorous was his training, and what impact did that have in his life? All questions blown off, and instead we see young Louis being spanked, a motive that will carry on for the rest of the movie.What saves the movie is the intensity of the lost at sea scenes. Perhaps it's because they're reminiscent of Life of Pi, pitting man's instinct and survival techniques against the forces of nature, this time being a shark that scared the bejeezus out of my crowded screening. The chemistry between O'Connell and his raft mates Mac and Phil is solid, and you get a real feel of desperation. You absolutely get a feel of desperation in the torture scenes, there is no doubt, but it is endlessly repeated to where you either become numb to Zamperini's struggle or you just cringe with every blow. They gave little Louis maybe 10 minutes of screen time. They spend 10 alone on soldiers punching Louis in the face. This man lived three times as much than a normal man lives! I especially wanted more at the end, instead we get type cards telling us the aftermath of Louis' imprisonment.
I know it sounds like I'm ragging on the film, but that's because it had so much potential. Mr. Zamperini died this summer, making it all the more poignant. And I know Jolie, who still does an alright job directing considering the massive task of filming aerial fighting scenes, sea scenes (anyone who's scene the making of Jaws knows what a tremendous feat that is) and prison scenes. Miyavi is a great villain, a sadist who itches for someone to disrespect him so he can assert his dominance. But why this movie pushes my rating the extra half is O'Connell's performance. He takes his beatings as a billboard advertisement of his endurance, he's a loyal man, a patriot, and the core definition of a survivor. He keeps Unbroken afloat when it becomes one note, and the Academy should take notice.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
Comments
Post a Comment