Hacksaw Ridge
Mel Gibson’s war drama captures Desmond Doss’s faith and courage with visceral intensity.
Date: January 17, 2017
Film: Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Mel Gibson’s film is that rare war drama that aims to be both grounded and uplifting—and succeeds. The story is true: Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist, refused to carry a weapon in World War II yet became a hero. That premise alone is potent, and the film understands it. This is not “the story of a quirky pacifist,” but one of faith, conscience, and humanity.
The film splits into two strong halves. The first builds the character: his family background, religious conviction, the “I will not kill” principle, and that stubborn yet gentle moral backbone that prevents Doss from giving in to drill sergeants or fellow soldiers. This is where Andrew Garfield shines. He does not grandstand; he plays Doss as humble and deeply human. You believe he says no out of conviction, not defiance.
The second half is the Okinawa inferno—and the film shifts into full war mode. Gibson can direct battle scenes. You feel the bullets, the mud, the blood, the smoke. You understand how an entire unit can vanish in minutes. Into this brutal chaos walks an unarmed man who keeps whispering, “One more, Lord,” and repeatedly runs back into the line of fire to carry soldiers out. This is where the technical bravura of the war sequences and the spiritual-emotional arc collide, making the film unforgettable.
What I love most is that the film never mocks faith; it portrays it as competence. Doss is not a hero because he is “nice,” but because he is consistent. He is not trying to dodge the war—he wants to fight it his way. The film declares that this, too, is courage. Perhaps it is even harder than carrying a rifle.