Biopics touch people in a way few other stories do. In the case of UNBROKEN the film detailing the life of Louis Zamperini, from childhood in Torrance, California where he was a problem child until his brother Peter challenged him in more ways than one (and who has the most memorable lines in the script) to encourage Louis to run until he not only became part of the school track team but also an Olympic Gold Medalist and ingrained in his the indomitable spirit sense that reigns throughout this story. From the Olympics Louis joins the armed forces during World War II, sustained fighter plane crash only to be afloat at sea with his two companions for 47 challenging days then captured by the Japanese and placed in prisoner of war camps where he endures the cruel harsh punishment POWs traditionally undergo. The story is well known because of the history books and because of Laura Hillenbrand's novel.
The screenplay is pasted together by Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson and the film is directed sensitively by Angelina Jolie. Louis is portrayed by Jack O'Connell and his two at-sea mates are played by Domhnall Gleeson and Garret Hedlund. They all give credible performances as do Takamasa Ishihara the head of the prison camps, and Jai Courtney and Finn Wittrock who play major roles while the lads are airbourne.
A point is made during this very long film that Louis tells God and Jesus that if he survives he will devote his life to their service – and then that is dropped somehow. The film does a fine job portraying the horrors of war, of prisoner of war camps, of the act of survival and in doing so it becomes a very moving experience. One wishes an editor would have been more sensitive to the prolonged sequences – at sea, in camps – but the film should have been made and we should never forget stories of truth such as this.
