Revolutionary fluff.

Rating: 5/10 (3 February 2003)

This movie tugs at all the viewer's heartstrings as it portrays a family transformed by the American Revolution, but it is totally lacking in depth.

Mel Gibson is miscast as the family patriarch raising seven children on a South Carolina plantation. As in "Braveheart", he is womanless, which I suppose was supposed to make him look more noble in our eyes. But it only makes for awkward moments with his sister-in-law, Joely Richardson. And as in "Braveheart", the movie only picks up when Mel works himself into a rage.

But that's about the extent of the emotional range shown by the movie's lead - awkward nobility and rage. Mel as everyman just doesn't fly (Harrison Ford who is great in that kind of role turned down the part). While I like him as an actor in certain parts, Mel Gibson just doesn't make this a very interesting movie. He's too modern and doesn't belong in a period piece, as shown by his equally weak performance in "Mutiny on the Bounty."

Another thing that annoyed me was all the leading American characters were played by non-Americans: Mel Gibson, the patriot of the title (Aussie); Heath Ledger, his son (Aussie); Joely Richardson, Mel's love interest (British); Rene Auberjonois, a minister who joins the rebellion (Swiss/French). Chris Cooper was the only American in a lead role. I don't want to be nationalistic in a movie review, but you'd think the producers could come up with an American cast when making a movie about the Revolution.
Another sore point was how blacks were perceived in the movie. From the opening shot where a black woman in the kitchen fusses over Mel's children like they're filming a floor wax commercial, the whole treatment of blacks in the South is antiseptic. At times, the black characters are embarassing to watch. You'd never know slavery was a bad thing from watching this movie. Walt Disney could have written the script the way blacks were portrayed.
The best roles are reserved for the British villains. Jason Isaacs plays the sneering Colonel Tavington, and his character is evil personified. Anticipating his inevitable death is about all that carries the movie for the last hour. The very capable British character actor, Tom Wilkinson, is cast as General Cornwallis and is superb in the part.

Eye candy for the most part, especially for the ladies who drool at the mention of Mel's name, and clearly designed to play to our emotions, but for the most part, this movie fails to break out of the mold of pedestrian entertainment.