Unbroken: Jolie’s Testament to the Human Spirit
Unbroken: Jolie’s Testament to the Human Spirit
unbroken__2014__by_myrmorko-d78zol0Starvation, deprivation and torture permeate Unbroken, making director Angelina Jolie’s film (based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book), one that invokes flinches, jerks, audible gasps and covering one’s eyes. The edge-of-the-seat opening sequence, set in a B-24 bomber that is being shot apart above the Pacific Ocean, captures the noise of war as well as the heart-pumping adrenaline and frenetic pace of being in the thick of battle, where death seems likely and imminent.
While scenes such as these are an onslaught for the senses, at other times the film prompts a rapt stillness as one becomes immersed in the epic story of Louis Zamperini’s historical and valiant journey. Yet some critics are saying the film feels “square” and “suffocated by its own nobility,” while others condemn it for playing it safe, for taking the old-school Hollywood route of an “inspirational” war picture.
One wonders if the jibes at the supposed “conventional narrative design” would be lobbed as readily were the director Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood or Oliver Stone. Or, if gendered descriptions of the film as being “placed on a pedestal” as “awards bait” would be as likely. Methinks not.
A male director at the helm would likely garner different responses, as well as more assurance of nominations in best director and best film categories. Statistically this claim holds up, given that only four women have ever been nominated for the Oscar in direction—with only one win, by Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. In fact, if Jolie and Selma‘s director Ava DuVernay both get nominated, as buzz portends, this would mark the first time two women directors were nominated in the same year. I am rooting for them both.
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http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/12/23/unbroken-jolies-testament-to-the-human-spirit/
