Movies: Unbroken

Score:  ***1/2 out of ***** (B)

Long Story Short:  A film critics have anticipated for its Oscar-worthy credentials - from director Angelina Jolie to its harrowing real-life WWII story - hit theaters on Christmas, Unbroken.  Jolie and the writers do in fact guide the film along, from (lost-at-sea) scene to (prisoner of war) scene, pretty well, sometimes even more than that.  But the man who somehow endured all these horrors, Zamperini, is still a mystery by the end, and so we're left with an unfortunate feeling of emptiness.


This week brings one of my final reviews for the films of 2014; it might be the very last one, but there are one or two 2014 releases that I still might see.  I also saw Exodus: Gods and Kings several weeks ago but I was unable to write a review for it soon after, and it wasn't very good anyway (I'll comment on it in my year-end review).  So here's another war movie, one that comes with some Oscar hype, in addition to (and partly because of) its extraordinary true story and famous director (Jolie).  Although the film has received middling reviews from critics (50% on RT), I decided to see for myself.  Unbroken was directed by Angelina Jolie, and stars Jack O'Connell and Miyavi.

The film begins in beautiful, bright blue skies - in which a fleet of warplanes zoom towards a mission.  Louis Zamperini (O'Connell) is aboard one of the B24s on its way to bomb a Japanese island in 1943, and his plane narrowly survives counterattacks from enemy fighter planes.  As the crew tries to survive, Zamperini's history comes in flashbacks, starting with his upbringing in California.  Teased as an Italian immigrant, Zamperini becomes a troublemaker but by chance a hidden gift is discovered - running.  Trained and disciplined by his older brother, Zamperini becomes focused and conquers state competitions, even getting to the Olympics.

Back in the Pacific, Zamperini and his crew are sent back in the air, and this time they are not so lucky.  Thus begins an unimaginably difficult series of obstacles and hardships for Zamperini, from being adrift in the middle of the ocean to abused as a prisoner of war.  And as much as he battles the conditions themselves to survive, Zamperini must also continually strengthen his own resolve to endure.

Unbroken has a relatively small cast, and even fewer who play significant roles.  Louis Zamperini, naturally, is the main character, played by Jack O'Connell.  O'Connell does fine in a difficult role, but ultimately he didn't grab my attention.  Depending on the tone of the film (more on this later), he could have played a heroic, charismatic man or a more realistic, gritty one - he ends up doing a bit of both at various times.  Decent acting, but something - the script, modesty, or perhaps just a lack of the right spark - prevents him from really taking control of the film as needed.  More impressive, in the second biggest and much more clearly defined role, is Japanese pop star Miyavi as Zamperini's tormenter (known as "the Bird").  Miyavi brings a needed dose of passion to the film, at times straying close to overdoing it but always commanding the audience's focus.  He portrays no cartoon evil, but an interesting take on an ultimately fragile, vulnerable villain.  There are a few other minor roles (mostly fellow American soldiers), but none of them are really worth mentioning.

As I talk about more and more in my reviews, for me a critical element for films is to get the right tone and stick to it effectively.  Here we have another WWII epic, but one that is trickier than usual because it truly is incredible yet is also a true story.  So the two opposing tones the filmmakers might choose between are the glamorous and/or heroic Hollywood style, and the realistic, gritty tone of a biopic (as I alluded to earlier).  To the director's and the screenwriters' credit, this film manages to get a pretty good blend of the two.  There are several moments of Hollywood-esque triumph (capped by the wood lift seen in previews) and peril, but also plenty of unpretty scenes of enduring life as a prisoner of war (most effectively near the end of the film, as they work at a coal station).  But from a bird's eye view, the film fails in some significant ways.  There isn't really a compelling narrative arc to tie it all together - admittedly, a tricky thing for a true-story film to do honestly (just ask 12 Years a Slave).  A perfectly acceptable alternative is to really dig into the real person whose life we are watching - but here the shortcomings of O'Connell's acting (and/or the script) handicap the film.

***

Unbroken is a quality film, but I would agree with most critics that it falls well short of being included in the best-picture conversation.  Despite the many differences, I have to say that this film also shares a good bit in common with the fall's other WWII film (and not just the fact that Jolie's husband, Pitt, stars in it), Fury.  Both films, from scene to scene, are competently, and sometimes very well, done.  They both show various facets of the horrors of the war, often quite effectively, but both films also resort to Hollywood-style heroism in ways that detract from it to some degree.  And ultimately, both left me feeling kind of empty, as a movie-goer, and unlikely to remember them long term - (no) thanks to lack of strong narrative arcs or at least good development of character(s).  This is where Saving Private Ryan stands as the model, to me, of a great war movie - and even 2014's Lone Survivor at least got the first part down well.  In summary, I wouldn't say you should avoid Unbroken - but there's no harm in waiting for it on Netflix.




"Poster for Unbroken (film)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbroken_(film)#mediaviewer/File:Unbroken_poster.jpg