30 Second Bottom Line: A gentlemen farmer, who has fought in all the wars he ever wants to, is forced into battle with the British because it's literally brought to his doorstep. Events happen which cause him to seek revenge and he calls upon his battlefield medal of honor talents to fight for the Americans when all he really wants to do is raise his children and cultivate his farm.
Story Line: Mel Gibson as Benjamin is the widower farmer with seven children ranging from a young one who is mute to the oldest two boys who want to be patriots and fight for colonial independence. When Gabriel (Heath Ledger) is taken away by the British to be hanged, Benjamin enlist the help of two of his younger boys whose use of weapons has been limited to target shooting. Benjamin and his sons use modern day ambush tactics to fight the British who do everything by the numbers. He frees his son and now in addition to the war, there is a personal battle between Benjamin and the British Col. Tavington (Jason Isaacs).
Gabriel finds his first love in Charlotte (Joely Richardson). Colonel Burwell (Chris Cooper) fights for the Americans, but he knows he needs the skills of Benjamin which were displayed in the French and Indian Wars.
Tell Me More About It: The CGI were misused in some of the city scenes making them look cartoonist. CGI use in the action scenes were outstanding. In one event, there is a cannonball that has a drastic effect on the enemy that brings out the oos and ahhs of the audience.
Melodrama was added by on occasion showing bullets being made from melted toy British soldiers which of course at some time would be used in a key show down scene. Gabriel, who probably would kill himself with a needle faster than a gun, finds time to patch together some type of flag that foreshadows its use to stir emotions later on. These soap opera touches give a polished edge to a conflict that was anything but pretty.
Patriot is a good movie, but it does not inform, entertain and draw you in like in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. Possibly it's because we know more about American history and knew what was important that was not being shown.
A major historical inaccuracy is the relatively peaceful coexistence with the black slaves. Although there were huge farms, you did not see many slaves other than house servants. The other blacks were either free men or were slaves who after fighting for the American cause would be granted their freedom after 12 months of service. This is sort of like Vietnam 100 years before the emancipation proclamation. In the 1960's a tour of duty was 12 months in the combat zone. Both were a Grand Illusion.
There was some friction between the white and black soldiers, which seemed to be there so that slavery was not totally ignored, which would have made the film a joke. Still, the rosy scenario presented to the faithful fighter Occam (Jay Arlen Jones) and the house servant Abigale (Beatrice Bush) were far too shallow considering that the entire premise of the film was independence.
While many bad things happen along the way of gaining freedom from the evil British Empire, from the wonderfully treacherous Colonel Tavington, to Benjamin in the end finding triumph even if it's in death. Knowing that the conflict concluded 100 years before slavery ended made this a fight essentially about two privileged groups struggling for the right to have land and a century of free labor to build their wealth before the playing field became instantly level (sarcasm intended).
Possibly mixing the two subjects would have made what really is meant to be a summer action film to have a tall dark shadow over what eventually becomes an inspirational movie on the birth of our nation. Something that is presented as history should be a little closer to the mark with respect to slavery. I can't say how much depth there should have been, but it should have been a lot more than was the case. Knowing what was to come with the things leading up to and including the Civil War, the weakest part of the film was the rosy picture presented for the black man.
The Patriot tells an OK story and Jason Isaacs is the best villain I can recall since Tim Roth in Rob Roy. His view of war acts is that "honor is found in the ends and not in the means". Not very long ago presidential candidate Barry Goldwater said that "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice". It cost him the election because the electorate thought he would be too quick on the trigger and might cause a nuclear war. With WWII and the Korean War so fresh in our memories, we were ready for peace.
The acting in the film is excellent and the action scenes are very much on a grand scale. After seeing intense action in Saving Private Ryan and most recently The Gladiator, watching men slaughter themselves in such a wholesale manner borders on being depressing rather than entertaining even when the good guys win.
Time can heal many wounds. Not long ago in LA, Rodney King, asked "can't we all get along?" If we can fight and make up with the British, the Germans and the Japanese, there has to be a way for those of us in this land which has much more in common that not, to find a way to indeed make this a land of opportunity for all where diversity is not a bad word.
DVD