The Patriot (2000)
These rustics are so inept.
THE SUMMARY: A widowed veteran resists the calls for a war for independence from Britain, but British brutality forces him anyway, and he loses two sons to the cause in which he must find meaning. On a broad level, I don’t even have to write this review. You know I’m going to love the themes of country, of family, of principle, and of the courage to fight a moral fight against seemingly impossible odds, so I’ll focus on some of the less obvious pieces of the movie, both good and bad.
Note: I had only seen this movie way back in middle school history class on a substitute teacher day, but I did remember it generally, so I watched the extended cut this time. There are only slight differences in the presentations and edits of several scenes. Nothing drastic, and no plot changes.
FROM MOVIE-PICKER SERGE: Mel Gibson doing Mel Gibson stuff. Pro-American, pro-freedom, pro-family - what's not to like?
THE BEST: I could write essays on the big political themes of this movie, especially and obviously the themes of a moral fight for freedom, and the bravery to stand on principle against the threat of death itself. These are the reasons I’m so fascinated with the time period - not just because it’s the birth of my country, but because these were men with a very rare combination of virtues: the courage to stand up for themselves and for what’s right, the physical strength and skill for that fight, and the moral conscience to do no more than necessary to secure their rights and their lives. These were men of incredible strength and moral clarity, a rare type sorely missed presently, and a type from whom we can learn many lessons. In much more eloquent terms, these men dared Britain to f—k around and find out, and indeed, Britain found out.
Because these big themes are so commonly a part of my typical commentary and analysis, I will instead focus on some of the movie’s subtle themes that I also appreciate greatly:
An elected legislature can trample a man’s rights just as easily as a king can: Great line from Benjamin while debating independence in the South Carolina general assembly. These days, we are constantly told that ‘democracy’ is our country’s foremost value. It isn’t. The preservation of your rights is, and an elected politician who disrespects them is every bit the danger as a king who does the same. How we select our leaders is of secondary importance to what those leaders protect: themselves, or your rights and freedom. Benjamin sees it clearly.
Talk means nothing if it’s not enacted: Some of the more meaningful scenes in the movie are the civilian men finally making that leap from simply griping in their homes or their churches, to standing up, grabbing a rifle, joining the militia, and putting their lives on the line to actually do something about it. In the context of a war, that’s an incredible act of courage. But the principle holds even in less dangerous contexts. If we spend our days griping about what others do wrong, and fail to uphold those standards ourselves with our own actions, we’re contributing little more than bitching. In other words, we should all live the lives we expect of others, and until we do, waste less time complaining. Don’t just talk about what you want to do tomorrow. Start doing it today.
I say this with acknowledgement I don’t live this principle fully myself. There are all sorts of moral compromises and procrastinations I do every day, some big, some small. But that’s really the point - it’s a constant effort at improvement, not an on-off switch. The more attention we focus on scrutinizing ourselves, and the less time we spend pointing fingers at others, the better.
You don’t actually save anybody by avoiding a necessary fight: Benjamin’s hesitation to enter the war is both admirable and understandable. No father wants to lose his sons. No father wants to leave his sons fatherless. I especially admire that because he is unwilling to fight, he will not vote to ask others to. However, the premise that avoiding a necessary fight can save yourself or your family is a mistaken one, as Benjamin learns. Of course we don’t want to subject our families to suffering, but by yielding to aggressors and abusers, we enable the suffering anyway. Refusing a necessary fight isn’t avoiding that suffering - it’s only prolonging it. And if the fight wants you, it’ll come for you anyway, so there’s no benefit in hiding. Benjamin learns that the hard way, at the cost of his sons, not because he threw them into battle, but because the battle came for them anyway.
You can’t save a man from his own path: For Gabriel especially though, it’s doubtful that Benjamin ever had the ability to save him anyhow. He was a young man, not a boy, and he freely entered the fight regardless of his father’s support or not. Especially with young men, there’s no controlling them into happiness, fulfillment, and purpose. They have to find their own paths to it, even if those paths become dangerous or fatal. And even if they do, that doesn’t mean the path was wrong. Personally, I take great pride in every step of my life being my own. If one of those steps inadvertently leads to my death, so be it - such are the risks of building a life I deem worthwhile. There’s nobody else who can instruct me and build me into happiness. I have to do those things myself. It’s a part of every man, and thus every man’s duty to respect that for others.
Where that respect becomes difficult, or nearly impossible, is with your son, as I’m sure one day I’ll learn. The art of letting a boy go to become a man will not be easy, but it is the necessary completion of raising a man right, and it must be done without hesitation or regret. In this context, Benjamin should regret nothing about what happened to Gabriel. It was all of Gabriel’s choosing, all choices to which he was entitled, and choices he likely would not change if he could.
The tear-jerking family moments: Obviously the death scenes are gripping, and Mel performs them well. But there are two other family scenes that nearly got me, one of them clearly emotional and other less intentionally so. When young Susan finally speaks to say ‘Papa, don’t leave,’ it’s an incredible moment just based on a father hearing his daughter speak for the first time, but because of the context too. The agony of leaving a child behind for the broader purpose of building a future for that child - that’s parenthood. Your responsibility isn’t just to that child today. It’s to that child tomorrow, and if you aren’t building tomorrow, you’re failing.
The second moment is strangely among my favorite in the movie, though it has nothing to do with the war. Gabriel tells Benjamin he is marrying Anne, surprising his father with the news, and the two share a celebratory apple, chewing it with nearly identical crooked, exaggerated, open mouths. Like father, like son - it’s a shockingly convincing performance by both actors. Goes to show, be nice to your dad - whether you like it or not, you will one day become him.
Elected legislatures can still tread on you
Papa, don’t go!
The celebratory apple
THE WORST:
The Hunter Biden-style dead sibling romance: Benjamin impregnating his dead wife’s sister is just flat-out weird, sorry. Sure, give him a new wife to show that life moves on from great hardship, fine. But there is absolutely no reason it has to be his sister-in-law, and besides, her character has all the charisma of a wet dishrag anyway. She has by far the cringiest line in the movie: ‘it’s a free country, or at least it will be!’
The ambush scene is overdone: I get it. Benjamin is a prolific warrior who became ‘activated’ by the murder of his son, and this moment represents his transition from humble farmer to ruthless killer. It’s a drama. It’s an action movie. The whole point is bending what’s believable, at least a little bit. Still, this scene is overdone. The British soldiers not being able to find two young boys who are just sitting still a few dozen yards away? All just standing by while Benjamin slays them one by one with blades, even though they have guns and huge bayonets on them? Throwing a tomahawk a few inches from his son’s face to save him? C’mon, man. The whole scene comes off as more silly than sincere.
Nathan hiding from Tavington is preposterous: The scene where Tavington raids Charlotte’s home is also absurd. Nathan hides from Tavington under the table, and Tavington hears Nathan cocking his gun, but when Tavington looks under the table to find him, he’s gone. Even though Nathan is just on the other side of the table, behind a tablecloth that doesn’t even reach the ground. Somehow Tavington can’t see him, and somehow Nathan didn’t make a sound in the otherwise silent room when he moved. Even though it’s so quiet that Tavington heard Nathan’s gun in the first place. Stupid scene, and serves no purpose anyway.
The prisoner exchange is preposterous: Likewise, the idea that a British General is going to exchange high value enemy prisoners for a set of anonymous randos is nonsensical. Perhaps he does the deal, but first he’ll want to know exactly who these officer prisoners are. The guy didn’t become a general by making completely uninformed moronic mistakes like this. The wisdom of the exchange depends on who is exchanged for whom, and that would be clarified beforehand.
Tavington’s death is preposterous: Yes, it’s tense. Yes, the slow-motion action and the flag charge against the horse is cool. Yes, I am entertained watching it. However, multiple Continental Army and militia allies of Benjamin just running by without intervention while their moral leader is about to get beheaded by a redcoat who’s taking his sweet time to enjoy the moment is laughable. Why would they charge past an enemy in general, let alone an enemy battlefield commander about to kill their hero? This fight would have been better in some isolated, one-on-one situation. Having dozens of other men around not intervening or helping makes no sense.
John Williams kinda just redid the Jurassic Park music: I love John Williams. As I wrote in May, Jurassic Park’s soundtrack may be the greatest movie score ever composed. However, perhaps Williams mails it in sometimes by just changing a few notes or some tempo here or there. The Patriot’s music at times sounds nearly identical to Jurassic Park’s, and even though I like Williams, it’s more fitting with the dinosaurs than it is for the colonial era. In this context, the soundtrack feels too modern, and lacking in the sort of battlefield snare drum, flute/fife, or bugle one might expect for the setting.
To my point on recycling the same sound though, tell me this part of The Patriot theme doesn’t sound exactly like this part of ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park.’ You can’t change my mind.
The ambush
Benjamin kills Tavington
THE RATING: 4/5 Wickies. The broad themes that this movie nails are far more important than the trivial silliness of certain plot points and scenes. It’s a movie that makes me damn proud to be an American and a father, and that’s what counts.
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NEXT WEEK: Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Brokeback Mountain was narrowly defeated in last week’s poll.
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