Unbroken - directed by Angelina Jolie
Starring: Jack O'Connell, Domnhal Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Takamasa Isihara, Finn Wittrock, Jai Courtney
Running Time: 137 minutes
Rated: M for violence
Unbroken is Angelina Jolie's second feature as director.
While I haven't seen her first "In the Land of Blood and Honey" it seems clear to me that she has a career behind the camera potentially every bit as successful as the one she has established in front.
Admittedly I am not a huge fan of Jolie the actress but after "Unbroken" I can see myself becoming a fan of Jolie the director.
This is the sixth movie that I have seen so far this year and that means that exactly half have been biopics based on real life events.
And it also means that exactly one hundred percent have been very, very good.
This one tells the story of Louis Zamperini a man who competed in the 1936 Olympic games as a runner then served in World War Two in the air force spending two years as a prisoner of Japan.
It's good material for a movie and allows for some nicely executed Olympic scenes and some great air combat sequences leading to sections where Zamperini must survive against all that nature can throw at him and then the worst that mankind can put him through.
It's very good stuff- all the more so that it really happened but even so some juicy real details have been left out.
While we do see Zamperini come eighth in the 5000 metres in Berlin and set a record for his final lap time we don't see him meet Adolf Hitler at the German leaders request.
Reportedly he also stole Hitler's personal flag by climbing a flagpole.
Perhaps this aspect may have detracted from the story that the film focuses on or maybe it was the victim of trimming for length.
Regardless this film could have been trimmed a little more in the early sections as it does have the tendency to drag ever so slightly.
There is a lot to tell but with so much of it being pretty bleak it did leave me pining for a conclusion so that I might have some reward in the relief.
It does have its moments of victory - particularly in the scenes where the three crash survivors struggle to find food and water and retain their sanity but on the whole the part of Louis' story told here is grim.
In fact small pacing issues aside it is a really solid piece of directing from Jolie and I honestly can't find too much else to nitpick.
The performances are excellent across the board with English actor Jack O'Connell as Zamerini unsurprisingly taking the honours.
Not to take anything away from the always great Domnhal Gleeson and a very, very good Garrett Hedlund.
Jolie handles the effects sequences superbly and the air combat parts are exciting and visually compelling.
I really liked the opening shot - it is a stunner.
American B-24's emerging from a stunning cloudscape with the rays of the sun streaming through.
For me however it is the adrift at sea part that Jolie really nails.
We see run ins with sharks, a Japanese aeroplane strafing the inflatable boats, a brutal storm.... it is harrowing stuff.
She also does a great job in keeping the tension up and even though most people seeing this will probably know the outcome by way of interviews, marketing or even just historical knowledge it is no less tense watching what Louis goes through at the hands of his captors.
And of course none more so than 'The Bird" - the Japanese guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe who tormented Zamperini very cruelly for two years.
The movie doesn't show even a fraction of the brutality that this man really inflicted upon his prisoners and it is still shocking.
(in reality he admitted to a sexual thrill in treating the prisoners so brutally and was known to rupture eardrums, fracture windpipes and deny both food and warmth particularly during winter months)
The film is chiefly concerned with showing how the events during the war shaped Zamperini in later life enabling him to recover mentally from what he endured.
His ultimate salvation is admirable and certainly made me question whether or not I would be as charitable.
It's down to the script by the Coen Brothers and it does a pretty good job in subtly applying religious belief and belief in oneself.
In the flashback sequences we see the latter in effect as Zamperini's supportive older brother encourages him to take up running with the motivational "If you can take it you can make it".
It is quoted later in the prisoner of war camp also.
The religious aspect is certainly there during the time the men spent in the rafts before they were captured but not so much so that it becomes a Life of Pi-esque fantasy.
That is a movie that came to mind several times but more down to visuals than theme.
"Unbroken" may not be as uplifting as say a Shawshank or as harrowing as a Private Ryan or a Schindler but it isn't trying to be a lot of the time.
I really enjoyed it and that mild pacing issue aside tend to think that it was a little robbed in not featuring more in this years Oscar nominations.
Damned good stuff.
RATING: 80/100
CONCLUSION: Well worth a look
Running Time: 137 minutes
Rated: M for violence
Unbroken is Angelina Jolie's second feature as director.
While I haven't seen her first "In the Land of Blood and Honey" it seems clear to me that she has a career behind the camera potentially every bit as successful as the one she has established in front.
Admittedly I am not a huge fan of Jolie the actress but after "Unbroken" I can see myself becoming a fan of Jolie the director.
This is the sixth movie that I have seen so far this year and that means that exactly half have been biopics based on real life events.
And it also means that exactly one hundred percent have been very, very good.
This one tells the story of Louis Zamperini a man who competed in the 1936 Olympic games as a runner then served in World War Two in the air force spending two years as a prisoner of Japan.
It's good material for a movie and allows for some nicely executed Olympic scenes and some great air combat sequences leading to sections where Zamperini must survive against all that nature can throw at him and then the worst that mankind can put him through.
It's very good stuff- all the more so that it really happened but even so some juicy real details have been left out.
While we do see Zamperini come eighth in the 5000 metres in Berlin and set a record for his final lap time we don't see him meet Adolf Hitler at the German leaders request.
Reportedly he also stole Hitler's personal flag by climbing a flagpole.
Perhaps this aspect may have detracted from the story that the film focuses on or maybe it was the victim of trimming for length.
Regardless this film could have been trimmed a little more in the early sections as it does have the tendency to drag ever so slightly.
There is a lot to tell but with so much of it being pretty bleak it did leave me pining for a conclusion so that I might have some reward in the relief.
It does have its moments of victory - particularly in the scenes where the three crash survivors struggle to find food and water and retain their sanity but on the whole the part of Louis' story told here is grim.
In fact small pacing issues aside it is a really solid piece of directing from Jolie and I honestly can't find too much else to nitpick.
The performances are excellent across the board with English actor Jack O'Connell as Zamerini unsurprisingly taking the honours.
Not to take anything away from the always great Domnhal Gleeson and a very, very good Garrett Hedlund.
 |
| The POW camp where Zamperini (second image) meets Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watamabe (far right) |
I really liked the opening shot - it is a stunner.
American B-24's emerging from a stunning cloudscape with the rays of the sun streaming through.
For me however it is the adrift at sea part that Jolie really nails.
We see run ins with sharks, a Japanese aeroplane strafing the inflatable boats, a brutal storm.... it is harrowing stuff.
She also does a great job in keeping the tension up and even though most people seeing this will probably know the outcome by way of interviews, marketing or even just historical knowledge it is no less tense watching what Louis goes through at the hands of his captors.
And of course none more so than 'The Bird" - the Japanese guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe who tormented Zamperini very cruelly for two years.
The movie doesn't show even a fraction of the brutality that this man really inflicted upon his prisoners and it is still shocking.
(in reality he admitted to a sexual thrill in treating the prisoners so brutally and was known to rupture eardrums, fracture windpipes and deny both food and warmth particularly during winter months)
 |
| Right-Left... the crash, adrift, the 1936 Olympics and the real Zamperini shown with director Jolie |
His ultimate salvation is admirable and certainly made me question whether or not I would be as charitable.
It's down to the script by the Coen Brothers and it does a pretty good job in subtly applying religious belief and belief in oneself.
In the flashback sequences we see the latter in effect as Zamperini's supportive older brother encourages him to take up running with the motivational "If you can take it you can make it".
It is quoted later in the prisoner of war camp also.
The religious aspect is certainly there during the time the men spent in the rafts before they were captured but not so much so that it becomes a Life of Pi-esque fantasy.
That is a movie that came to mind several times but more down to visuals than theme.
"Unbroken" may not be as uplifting as say a Shawshank or as harrowing as a Private Ryan or a Schindler but it isn't trying to be a lot of the time.
I really enjoyed it and that mild pacing issue aside tend to think that it was a little robbed in not featuring more in this years Oscar nominations.
Damned good stuff.
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