Contenders ’16: Hacksaw Ridge

Cpl. Desmond T. Doss was a lot like Sergeant York, but he held fast to his religious principles. The Army considered him a conscientious objector, even though he voluntarily enlisted. Despite their best efforts to force him out of the service, Doss persevered all the way to Okinawa and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Deservedly tipped for awards consideration, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge (trailer here) screened last night as part of MoMA’s annual Contenders series.

Hopefully, this means we can now forgive and forget Gibson’s drunken outburst. The selectivity of the outrage was particularly egregious. After all, Nicki Minaj spent millions to deliberately make a video drenched Nazi-symbolism and got away with a sorry-if-you-were-offended non-apology. Frankly, Gibson is one of a handful of directors who do justice to a film like this. We need them more than we need self-aggrandizing pop ditties.

Regardless, the example a Conscientious Objector winning the Congressional Medal of Honor is one we can all appreciate. Thanks to some boyhood traumas and a father still suffering with PTSD from the first World War, Doss was always a bit socially awkward, but his Seventh Day Adventist faith was very real. He supported the justness of our entry into WWII and duly signed up, but his recruiter clearly misled Doss into believing he could serve as a medic without touching a firearm or training on Saturday (his Sabbath).

Sgt. Howell and Capt. Glover will try to disabuse him of that erroneous notion, but Doss sticks by his guns, so to speak, eventually winning the right to rush into one of the grisliest battles of the Pacific Theater without even a side arm for protection. Yet, his raw courage as a battlefield medic, single-handedly saving seventy-five wounded servicemen (in a manner that is truly better seen than explained), will humble his fiercest critics.

Frankly, Andrew Garfield is embarrassingly miscast in Scorsese’s Silence, but the aw-shucks Doss is squarely in his power zone. To give credit where it is due, Garfield is pretty terrific as the slightly twitchy but deeply devout G.I. Although it is not a super complex role, Teresa Palmer is a humanizing influence on the film as Doss’s understanding fiancée, Dorothy Schutte. Vince Vaughn is nearly unrecognizable unleashing his inner R. Lee Ermey as Sgt. Howell and Sam Worthington is characteristically intense as Capt. Glover. Yet, the most notable supporting player has to be Damien Thomlinson, an Australian veteran of Afghanistan, who lost two legs to an IED, portraying Ralph Morgan, a G.I. enduring a similar experience. Since his dramatic chops are first-rate, many viewers will probably miss the wider significance of his performance, assuming he has the advantage of make-up and prosthetics.

The warfighting scenes in Hacksaw are as intense as anything in Saving Private Ryan, Fury, or any recent WWII film. Yet, the most hair-raising heroism involves the saving rather than taking of lives, which pretty much vindicates Doss, chapter and verse. Still, the first two acts are probably somewhat unfair to the Army. To survive a Hellish battle like Okinawa, the troops need to act as a cohesive unit, which is difficult when resentment and favoritism saps moral. However, Doss really did serve and sacrifice above-and-beyond what he promised (resulting in long-term health issues not covered during the film). He was the real deal, so it is nice to see him finally get wider recognition. Very highly recommended, Hacksaw Ridge should absolutely be in contention, including Gibson for best director. It is now playing in New York at the AMC Empire and screened to a near capacity audience as a selection of MoMA’s Contenders.

Contenders ’16: La La Land

It is easier to be scuffling in New York rather than Los Angeles, because you can do it without a car here. You are also more likely to find talented but gig-challenged jazz musicians in The City. However, Mia Dolan manages to run into Sebastian Wilder more frequently than either would prefer. At least, that is how it starts. Eventually, it evolves into something serious, but these things never last in LA, do they? The attractive couple will have to enjoy the music and the romance while it lasts in Damien Chazelle’s movie musical, La La Land (trailer here), which screens during MoMA’s Contenders series, in addition to seven hundred-some theaters nationwide.

Wilder is in a bad place. Recently, he has been torturing himself over the loss of a storied jazz club relaunched as a samba and tapas joint. He is also on the verge of losing his cocktail piano gig. Despite their bad starts, pursuing Dolan gives him some needed focus. Even though she already has a boyfriend, the well-heeled Greg Earnest will be no match for a revival screening of Rebel Without a Cause and a midnight excursion to Griffith Observatory. Wilder will even teach Dolan (and hopefully the rest of the audience) to appreciate jazz. Unfortunately, when Wilder goes on tour with his former smooth jazz nemesis, the time apart will put a strain on their relationship.

You have to give Chazelle credit for what he pulls off with La La Land. While his first crack at the genre, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench was a very nice film, La La is the best original movie musical since maybe Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which is obviously a touchstone referential film for Chazelle. The film and the music composed by Justin Hurwitz (with lyricists Pasek and Paul) is just that good. Frankly, if “City of Stars” does not win the Oscar for best original song than the Academy must not have any ears whatsoever. “Stars” will be one for the Great American Songbook, but “Another Day of Sun” and “A Lovely Night” are also total winners.

But wait, there’s more—like Mandy Moore’s energetic yet stylishly old school choreography. She cleverly incorporates the traffic-bound cars in the opening flag-waving “Another Day of Sun” (beautifully shot by Linus Sandgren) and stages an awesomely ambitious third act fantasia, somewhat in the tradition of An American in Paris (both the film and the Broadway musical).

Even though he looks ten years older than Emma Stone’s Dolan (at least), Ryan Gosling convincingly broods and self-sabotages like a jazz musician. He also learned a heck of a lot of piano for the film, which is cool. Emma Stone is charming as Dolan, but she also conveys all the desperation and self-doubt plaguing the struggling actress. There is a great deal of chemistry between the two co-leads, as one might hope, since this is their third romantic pairing together.

Even though La La boasts a huge cast, very few of them register besides Stone and Gosling. Of course, there is no missing J.K. Simmons’ arch cameo as the club owner who fires Wilder (sort of a victory lap for his Whiplash Oscar). Likewise, John Legend is reasonably credible as Wilder’s sellout classmate. More importantly, legit jazz musicians Kevin Axt, Wayne Bergeron, Peter Erskine, Dan Higgins, Andy Martin, Bob Sheppard, and Graham Dechter keep the soundtrack real and sounding terrific as the La La Land Jazz Ensemble.

La La Land is as good as you’ve heard—maybe even better. It seems strange Chazelle’s under-seen Park Bench has not been reissued to capitalize, but maybe that will happen if Oscar comes calling. Regardless, it is terrific film that stays true to Chazelle jazz roots and his big screen musical influences. Very highly recommended, La La Land screens next Wednesday (1/4) as part of MoMA’s contenders and is now playing in New York, at the AMC Empire.