A story of utmost importance, the well-crafted "Glory" tells of a whole other battle

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2009)

War films seem to speak the loudest when "the other side" is not the actual enemy in the film. In "Glory," based on the real letters of Union Col. Robert Gould Shaw of the Massachusetts 54th, America's first black regiment in the Civil War has to battle prejudice and its soldiers own devaluing of their personal worth. That is the enemy, and overcoming it is how they achieve "glory" on the battlefield.
The film follows Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick in his first dramatic leading role to which he finds a mild measure of success. Shaw survives Antietum when he asked by the Mass. governor and Frederick Douglass himself to lead the first black regiment. Not only is the racial barrier a thick one, but Shaw must battle his own uncertainties of being in command and how to deal with others of similar rank who abuse that power. When Shaw realizes his men are merely being used to do the labor of the army, he fights for their right to see battle -- essentially their dignity and glory.
Broderick's style caters best to the softer, sympathetic sides of his character as well as the courageous moments, but as a commanding military presence, his performance comes up a bit flat. Still, he is supported by the tremendous talents of Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. Washington breaks out in a huge way in this film as Pvt. Trip, a quick-tempered rabble-rouser who usually plays devil's advocate to the all the Civil Rights sentiments in the film, a role that earned him a best supporting Oscar. Freeman's performance as the more responsible, level-headed soldier is only overshadowed by the other film he released at the time, "Driving Miss Daisy." Also impressive are Cary Elwes of "The Princess Bride" as Maj. Forbes and John Finn as the loud Irish Sgt. Maj. Mulcahy.
"Glory" also lives up to its title in the way it is crafted. Director Edward Zwick fills this film with great visuals -- gun powder-shrouded fields, the Atlantic coastline at dusk and the flare-lit skies over Ft. Wagner in the film's final battle, all set to a majestic James Horner score. "Glory" might be Zwick's most Academy-recognized film (which he directed), but his films have most importantly continued to tell the untold stories of heroism all over the world in an entertaining and engaging way.
The story is brilliantly crafted by making us feel good by showing people like Shaw breaking racial barriers a whole century before Civil Rights, but then fueling our emotions by introducing characters in power or situations where prejudice trumps this progressive and empowering movement of the story. The plot offers a diverse set of characters that result in a diverse set of responses and perspectives to the racial issues of the film -- from Cpl. Thomas Searles, a well-educated black man raised free in the North to the defeatist "whites will always keep us down" attitude of Washington's Pvt. Trip, "Glory" handles the race issue sensitively and smartly.
The story of the 54th regiment is one that needed to be told and it's told extremely well by all who worked on "Glory." All the excellent craftsmanship of the film only enhances its wise approach to a war America still fights on its own soil to this very day: Civil Rights.