Australian Cinema > films >

hacksawridge

Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, 2016) wr. Andrew Wright, Robert Schenkkan, dp Simon Duggan, ed. John Gilbert, prod. design Barry Robison; Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, Richard Roxburgh; war, Okinawa; ten AACTA Awards: won Best Film, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Andrew Garfield), Best Lead Actress (Doroth Schutte), Best Supporting Actor (Hugo Weaving), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound (Andrew Wright, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, Mario Vaccaro, Tara Webb, Peter Grace ASSG), Best Production Design

World War II American Army MedicĀ Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.

David Rooney, in Hollywood Reporter: "Cinematographer Simon Duggan, editor John Gilbert and visual effects supervisor Chris Godfrey show great skill at combining the murky near-blindness of a combat scene, ripped apart by grenade blasts, bullets and flames, with jolts of chilling lucidity. Moments in which the screen becomes a canvas of human destruction, splashed in red, have an awful beauty that's something to behold.
The movie was filmed in Australia, which explains the cast's strong local contingent, all of them convincingly playing American. Veterans Weaving and Griffiths bring troubled depths to their careworn characters, while Palmer makes what could have been just another decorative sweetheart role into a woman whose goodness, strength and loyalty make her a perfect match for Desmond. Also from the Oz casting pool, Richard Roxburgh shows up briefly as a military shrink, while Bracey's imposing physical presence and charismatic appeal command attention whenever he's onscreen."


Garry Gillard | New: 28 October, 2016 | Now: 6 April, 2020