The best film I have seen dealing with the liberty of conscience.

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2020)

This film reminds me of, of all things, a macho version of A Man for All Seasons. In my mind it isn't even primarily a war film but instead a legal (or philosophical) drama. Don't get me wrong there is a ton of war film elements to this film; of course Gibson crafts them to play out in an intense way. There's the requisite blood and guts to capture the horror of war. But the main thrust of the story is Doss's convictions around serving in the military while being a contentious objector.
Much like A Man for All Seasons the film contains several quasi-Socratic dialog scenes explicitly about Doss's views and his interlocutors trying to pin him down to something. I.e. one sequence concerns the army trying to kick him out under mental defect. No one is able to get Doss to change his mind and the scenes have a wonderful philosophical edge to them. It should be noted that one scene-the one in prison-seems to be consciously lifted from Seasons. In any case, the portrayal of Doss's views are engaging and finally moving. I also like that the script was smart enough to include a couple of story beats that raise the possibility that Doss's didn't meet his own standards perfectly. It helped the film avoid falling into the sanctification of Doss.
Probably the best aspect of this through is just how non-theoretical Doss treats his conviction to not bare arms. And just as importantly his conviction to serve as a medic. There's a couple of scenes involving intense emotional experiences between Doss and his family, especially his father. The resulting material ends up portraying Doss's convictions as post-moral theory (or premoral theory). They are merely something he *feels* deeply. The irony of the film being built around how to accommodate convictions *reasonably* while treating the convictions as something beyond reason is a deeply moving aspect of the whole enterprise. The film really does grapple with the weighty issues at the heart of Doss's story.
The film does not work with Garfield. He is simply wonderful in this. Real, sensuous, sincere, utterly convicted and above all *earnest* His performance is utterly moving and powerful and endearing. So much of the film is about Doss's inner life and you really get a deep sense of it despite all the other elements Garfield has to convey.
This is such a striking film and story. Gibson for all his faults does it justice.