More of an action film than historical fiction (Some Spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2002)

The Emmerich-Devlin-Rodat team set out to accomplish a great deal when they began production on "The Patriot." The American Revolution is full of great stories and dramatic events, but surprisingly there aren't many films on this period. The film makers wanted to fill this void and also dispel many of the myths about the revolution, and present the truth that, as Dean Devlin said, "the revolution started in the north, was fought in the south, and was won by the French."
"The Patriot" isn't a horrible movie, but it fails on many levels. First, the issue of slavery: Well, while his sister-in-law has slaves, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) has black "workers" who work for him out of their own free-will. This is a difficult issue to deal with. Francis Marion, the character whom Benjamin is based on, did have slaves, and he was guilty of many other horrible things. Depicting Martin with these workers is basically a white-wash of the period--so much that it's offensive. Although at the time freedom, separation of church and state, and free speech were considered revolutionary ideas, audiences could not root for a slave-owner. Perhaps it would have worked better if Martin had neither slaves nor these `workers' employed for him. As presented in the film, it doesn't appear genuine--it's a cop-out.
Second, the raw brutality of the film is so manipulative that it's almost flat out ridiculous. Nobody, we learn early on, is safe from being killed off, just to get a rise out of us. "The Patriot" premiered at a time when unflinching realism was politically correct and popular with audiences. In some ways it seems as if Emmerich, Devlin, and Rodat wanted to cash in on this phenomenon, if not to at least add their own entry to the genre of shocking, harsh war films. Jason Isaacs as Col. Tavington gives a completely monstrous performance, having no sympathy for anyone, in one scene stuffing all the inhabitants of a village into a church and burning it to the ground. Many atrocities were committed during the American Revolution, but this scene is not an accurate representation of events that occurred at this time (Dean Devlin admits on the commentary track that the scene was complete artistic license.) But the scene wasn't even necessary--in fact, all Tavington needed to do to appear a "monster" was shoot prisoners of war (in which case, "Tarleton," the character he is based on, did.) Another embarrassing scene that (thankfully) didn't make it to the final cut had Tarleton torturing one of his defiant victims, brazenly claiming to him that he `always' does his worst. American audiences do not need to be convinced that the Revolution was necessary. In fact, "The Patriot" would have been much more successful if it had been ambiguous--tough, uncouth, and unsaintly militia taking on a more humane British enemy would have been more intriguing. Many of the militia members are rough and unmerciful, but the general black and white theme is present at all times. Other problems include various inaccuracies, like those amazingly accurate pistols from the 18th century, that always seem to find their targets. A monologue from Mel Gibson about one of his past atrocities is so clichéd it fails to have any impact. A character plays dead, faking out his opponent, dating back to action films of the 80's (or before.) And let's not forget that unforgivable line, `It's a free country or at least it will be.'
These strong weaknesses definitely demote the film, especially considering that it was created to earn prestige and acclaim. But `The Patriot' does succeed on some levels, and it is worth seeing. Mel Gibson claims that he strongly identified with his Benjamin Martin, being that he is also a father of seven children. This strengthens his credible performance. The period sets, costumes, and a great assemblage of character actors create awesome spectacle, and the film is photographed very well. Many of the film's most obvious exploits do work: A moment between Benjamin Martin and one of his daughters is truly touching, and Heath Ledger's apology to his father about one of his past mistakes is a very moving scene. The sound and visual effects are very good, and so are many of the battle scenes. The theme that militia tactics were a large factor in the defeat of the by-the-book British is what works best.
I enjoyed "The Patriot," I just wish they did better. Grade: B-/C+