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Title: The Patriot (2000)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Mel Gibson | ... | Benjamin Martin | |
| Heath Ledger | ... | Gabriel Martin | |
| Joely Richardson | ... | Charlotte Selton | |
| Jason Isaacs | ... | Col. William Tavington | |
| Chris Cooper | ... | Col. Harry Burwell | |
| Tchéky Karyo | ... | Jean Villeneuve | |
| Rene Auberjonois | ... | Reverend Oliver | |
| Lisa Brenner | ... | Anne Howard | |
| Tom Wilkinson | ... | Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis | |
| Donal Logue | ... | Dan Scott | |
| Leon Rippy | ... | John Billings | |
| Adam Baldwin | ... | Capt. Wilkins | |
| Jay Arlen Jones | ... | Occam | |
| Joey D. Vieira | ... | Peter Howard | |
| Gregory Smith | ... | Thomas Martin | |
It is 1776 in colonial South Carolina. Benjamin Martin, a French-Indian war hero who is haunted by his past, now wants nothing more than to live peacefully on his small plantation, and wants no part of a war with the most powerful nation in the world, Great Britain. Meanwhile, his two eldest sons, Gabriel and Thomas, can't wait to enlist in the newly formed "Continental Army." When South Carolina decides to join the rebellion against England, Gabriel immediately signs up to fight...without his father's permission. But when Colonel William Tavington, British dragoon, infamous for his brutal tactics, comes and burns the Martin Plantation to the ground, tragedy strikes. Benjamin quickly finds himself torn between protecting his family, and seeking revenge along with being a part of the birth of a new, young, and ambitious nation. Written by Caleb Conser
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The Patriot is based around one Benjamin Martin, an ex-soldier, who now happily living as a family man finds himself thrust into conflict at the break of the American Revolution.
He loves the Brits does Mel Gibson, Gallipoli, Braveheart and here with The Patriot, see the pattern anyone? As with the aforementioned Gallipoli and Braveheart, certain liberties have also been taken with events in The Patriot so as to glossy up for the eager Hollywood contingent. It's not my want to scribble about the facts of Benjamin Martin {Re:Francis Marion}, or William Wallace for that matter, information as such is but a mere click away on the world wide web.
So casting aside the artistic licence factors, is The Patriot any good? Well nearly it is--nearly. Gibson is fine, he shoulders the burden of the film with great gusto and no shortage of emotional depth. It's very easy to accept him as a staunch family man who transforms into a blood thirsty warrior. The problems, acting wise, lay away from Gibbo's central performance. Surrounded by caricature villains {tho Jason Isaacs' Tavington is deliciously vile} and underwritten characters {Chris Cooper wasted and Joely Richardson is but a mere prop}, Gibson has no choice but to hog the screen. So much so it ultimately turns into a one man star vehicle, which for a costume war epic isn't a great thing really.
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day and Godzilla) directs and handles the battle sequences very well, there's lashings of blood as men line up to shoot and dismember one and other. While cannonball's whizz, bang and tear off body parts, it's grim, yet oddly rousing stuff. Not even the overtly flag waving and sloganeering on show can off set the impact of the well constructed battles. There is of course lots of tragedy to be found in the film, and these are some what surprisingly, tenderly handled by Emmerich, but mostly it's via an on song Gibson, who remains one of the few modern day male actors capable of believable grief. All of this given a John Williams score that suitably flits between rousing and ethereal, and things are further boosted by the sumptuous photography from Caleb Deschanel.
There should have been more thought given to the racial {slaves} aspects in the conflict, and this coupled with the bad errors of under developed characters hurts The Patriot. Not so as to stop it being entertaining, but more to stop it being a one man show. But as it is, thanks in the main to Gibson, and in spite of its faults, it's an above average drama. 6/10