'Patriot' shows reality of war

By Tom McHenry
Summer Editor

Quick- count up all the Revolutionary war movies you've seen.

If you've got more than one hand full of fingers up, you're either lying or deserving of a pat on the back.

Though the Revolutionary War sub-genre of war movies has gone under-appreciated, "The Patriot" may spark interest in an era that was previously quite limited.

Even movies set in the same time period of the 1770s and the struggle for independence focus mainly on the legendary figures of the time - the brilliant and stately George Washington; the brilliant and eccentric Benjamin Franklin; and the brilliant and young Thomas Jefferson. Their legends have grown into monstrous, unblemished things.

"The Patriot" instead opts for another take on the time period- the lives of simple men living through the gruesome war. The Revolutionary period rouses up images ingrained in the cultural subconscious since grade school; images of a gentlemanly war that the Americans won though outnumbered, cold and hungry. "The Patriot" chooses to trim some of the fat from legend, going for the gory bloody meat of the conflict.

Soldiers with single shot muskets and cannons are a far cry from soldiers with machine guns killing each other from far away. The largely ineffective rifles meant that soldiers would have to stab each other with bayonets or beat each other to death with the butts of their rifles, all of which find their place in "The Patriot".

Suddenly the concept of fighting for America's independence is rather horrifying.

And it's in this philosophical position that the film begins with Benjamin Martin, played by Mel Gibson. Martin is a widower with a family of seven children. He is a veteran of the French and Indian War (another neglected war movie sub-genre) where he was a great leader of men and a violent butcher of his enemies.

Martin is a member of the South Carolina assembly and so must deal with the very real possibility of a war fought around him that could put his family in jeopardy.

And so he abstains from fighting. Even after his eldest son joins the army, he refuses to support the war. It's not until his entire family is in jeopardy that the audience is shown just what a vicious fighter Martin can be.

The balance of the unstoppable killing machine and the sentimental philosopher is where Gibson is able to excel in a role where many of his fellow actors would have faltered. His soulful eyes make each kill a visible combination of vengeance fulfilled and goodness betrayed.

For many, the film may seem a cheap "Braveheart" knock-off from the trailer, and though the idea of a freedom fighter and his ragtag army using unorthodox techniques to kill the British may seem that way at first the film is far from derivative.

In fact, if there's any story "The Patriot" finds similarity to, it's "Robin Hood". Martin and his "merry men" strike from a murky forest against the rich British soldiers to provide independence for poor, hard-working Americans.

The film's weak point lies in its slower moments. Slow, quiet scenes in historical gore-stravaganzas like "The Patriot" or the recent "Gladiator" tend to be welcome departures from the violence to add dimension and character development. "The Patriot" though, misuses these moments in its near three-hour length.

Points about America and patriotism are made and then made again and again. The point goes beyond being driven home and becomes downright preachy.

Some of the "preachyness" becomes almost humorous after a time, when shortly after being told how great America is and what better people its citizens are, those same citizens commit many of the same atrocities as their enemies.

And enemies they are. "The Patriot" chooses to display the British as a group of fashion divas with the minds of serial killers. Their coats are red but their hearts are black, killing civilians and razing towns.