Unbroken (M)
Starring: No-one you’ve ever heard of
WITH plenty of Oscars buzz circling, an epic feel and Angelina Jolie directing, there’s been a heavy focus on the strongly-promoted “Unbroken”.
But forget the hype – it’s a good film, but not a great film.
If you’ve been living on the moon, it’s the tale of Louie Zamperini – Olympic athlete, warrior, prisoner of war and general all-round survivor.
The film kicks off at a cracking pace, with Zamperini in a B-24 Liberator bomber involved in a brutal encounter with some Japanese Zero fighters over the Pacific.
These opening flying sequences are by far the best in the film, with the Yanks working hard at turning the Rising Sun into setting sons – with more than a little success.
They’re followed by a drawn-out sequence covering 47 days afloat on a raft. You’ll feel like you lived through every day.
Next comes the inevitable prison camp, with the equally inevitable sadistic commandant. He is played as relentlessly dark, almost to the point of being more demonic than human.
Pleasingly, however, Zamperini is not portrayed as a saint. Even as a boy, he’s fond of some booze and a broad.
Unbroken falls down in its unknown cast, its length, and its script. It needed some experienced hands to steady the ship (or plane), a cut-throat editor to slice off 45 minutes, and much more meat in the script.
Jolie seems to have taken the attitude with the script that less is more – well, sometimes more is more. It was as if the physical trials and action triumphed over Zamperini’s thoughts and feelings.
It remains a good film and, if Jolie has the discipline to learn the lessons it contains, her next directorial effort could have the potential of greatness.
– Jason Beck
