See it for SOUTH CAROLINA!

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2000)

Say what you will about the historical accuracy, but one part was definitely true--South Carolina did, in fact, fight the hardest of the colonies for their collective independence. Look in any detailed historical text about the war, and the truth is very clear. British folks--I know that not all Revolutionary War British army people were like Tavington... but the real-life Tarleton, on whom Tavington was based, did a lot of things no self-respecting Brit would be proud of. Sorry. So did Americans.
I was very happy to see that the entire film was shot on location in South Carolina--I think the location is the best aspect of the film, actually. South Carolina is a very beautiful state and I think it shows well. Watch it once just for the scenery and you'll know what I mean.

The script was very good, with one line of exception: (INCONSEQUENTIALLY SMALL SPOILER) "It's a free country." (END INCONSEQUENTIALLY SMALL SPOILER) That one line drew me out of the movie temporarily because it's so glaringly modern-sounding. If nothing else, the plot was original--I've never seen a film willing to let the audience get attached to a character, only to knock off that character and cause major angst.
The directing could have been better, but it did a great job of showing off the South Carolina scenery. The battle scenes were very well-done--I thought it was a little tame in terms of gore, though. (Then again, I'm the only female I know who was able to watch all the battles in their entirety.)
I was unhappy to learn that, while the film was originally supposed to be about Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox," they changed it when some people alleged that Marion had hunted Cherokee for sport and raped slaves. That's a load of hogwash. There's absolutely no evidence to substantiate any of that.
In closing, see this movie soon, and visit South Carolina, because South Carolina and The Patriot both ROCK.