Movie review 'Unbroken': Angelina Jolie struggles to bring truth to the biopic

Director: Angelina Jolie

Cast: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund

Rating: 3 stars

 

Actress-turned-director Angelina Jolie tells the heroic amd nearly unbelievable story of  Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who survived 47 days in a lifeboat in the Pacific during World War II. Based on the acclaimed novel by Laura Hillenbrand, the film chronicles the life of Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who was later captured by the Japanese and tortured in a prisoner of war camp for three years. 

 

It is a harrowing tale but definitely an inspirational one. A biopic and war drama often poses to be one of the biggest challenges for a director and Jolie takes far too long to tell it and does not throw light on anything new.

 

The film starts with Louis in a bomber craft taking fire. He is calm under pressure and the we bounce back and forth from the action to Louis' childhood. An Italian immigrant who is often in trouble, and starts running by accident. He is good enough to set the national high school record and makes it to the 1936 Olympic team, failing to medal in the 5,000 meters but setting a record for his final lap.

 

The movie is divided into three distinct parts. The first part of the film chronicles his Louis’ rebellious childhood and moves on the part where Louis and his battalion are attacked by Japanese air crafts.  However, this aircraft crashes in the middle of the ocean and hence the second part of the film begins. Louis and two others, Mac (Finn Wittrock) and Phil (Domhnall Gleeson), are saved and they are left stranded on two rafts. The sequence takes about an hour of the film and shows the travails of a 47-day survival journey that shows the three lose weight, get sunburned and kill animals for food. In particular there is one grotesque image when the three take a seagull by its legs and strangle it. It is unwatchable, but the chaotic nature shows the animalistic and survival instincts of humans. The third part of the film starts when the Japanese rescue Louie and Phil, and they are brought to detention centers where they are tortured. This sequence is the most heart-wrenching and visually stimulating portion of the film. Each sequence is brutal and hard to watch. One of the most intense sequences in particular is when Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Miyavi), the leader of the detention center, makes all the prisoners hit Louis. Jolie chooses to shoot it in close ups, intensifying the pain that Louis is feeling and allowing audiences to essentially relive each moment. 

 

Jack O'Connell is the primary reason the film works as he brings a charismatic persona to the character. At the beginning of the film, he has a comic edge to him and later when Mac and Finn are starving on the raft, rather than mourning the unfortunate circumstances, he starts talking about the Gnocchi his mother makes and tells them to imagine the taste of them in their mouths. O'Connell vividly describes his mother's recipe with such detail that it is hard not to visualise his description. Throughout the film O'Connell effectively portrays Louis' strength and willingness to survive with gravitas. 

 

While the cast is definitely formidable, Miyavi, who portrays Watanabe, feels wrongly cast. His performance does not bring anything new, and it feels much like a caricature. It is evident that he is trying his best, but he falls into the trap of repeatedly making serious faces and yelling to express his emotion. 

 

Jolie as a director proved in 'The Land of Blood and Honey' that she can handle complex subject matter. But here, despite the visits to his childhood, Louis eventually becomes a rote hero, a punching bag who will never give in, no matter what the price. "If you can take it, you can make it," becomes the tagline of this inspirational tale.

 

The other big issues with the film is that it never feels truly original. The raft sequence bears stark resemblance to ‘Life of Pi.’The way it is shot from above ground, the close-ups, the shark attacks and the terrible looking CGI storm make it feel like we have seen this before.  Also in the end, it is a shock to learn during the credits, that after the war, he marries his longtime sweetheart and she's never even been hinted at during the film.

 

‘Unbroken’ is well intentioned and will move audiences to tears. It celebrates the human spirit of Louis Zamperini but unfortunately lacks any original or masterful storytelling. If you leave the theater wanting to know more about how this man you will need to turn to the book.