Jack O’Connell
Domhnall Gleeson
Miyavi
Garrett Hedlund
Finn Wittrock

Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Richard LaGravenese
William Nicholson

137 mins.
Biography, Drama, Sport
December 25, 2014

Rated PG-13 for war violence including intense sequences of brutality, and for brief language. (MPAA)

“Unbroken,” directed by Angelina Jolie and co-written by the Coen brothers and others, is an elegant film. It looks beautiful, even when it’s dark and gray. And there’s a natural flow to it that works overall. Jolie understands rhythm – hers, while flawed, is gentle and, at times, hypnotic. As a result, this is the kind of film that would likely work better as a rental than as a moviegoing experience. Many people will become restless watching this in a theater. Not me, though.

Throughout the film, I was reminded of Clint Eastwood’s war films. (Jolie worked with Eastwood on “Changeling,” a wonderful film.) The first half of this film has a look that would fit in with Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” and is structurally similar to Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” which was also released in 2014. However, Jolie has greater success with the use of flashbacks than Eastwood does in “American Sniper.” In this film, the flashbacks don’t undercut the momentum. This is partly due to this film’s smoother pacing, but also due to the placement of the flashbacks.

The second half of this film is reminiscent of Eastwood’s “Letters From Iwo Jima.” The color palette is similar, for obvious reasons. However, this film doesn’t drag as much as that one. There are moments that lag a bit throughout “Unbroken” – there are lulls – but the rhythms are steadier here. Plus, you can sense the femininity in Jolie’s filmmaking. That’s to her credit. We’ve seen stories about war, captivity, and survival before; but this film manages to be both sensitive and unflinching at the same time. There are moments of unforced, simple emotion that land as a result. And the acting, anchored by British actor Jack O’Connell’s lead performance, follows suit.

While imperfect, especially at the very end, “Unbroken” is a film that quietly gets under your skin. (Jolie should have trusted that even more and ended it a little sooner. This film doesn’t need its clichéd biopic ending.) Many people have been moved by “American Sniper,” and rightly so, but this film moves you in a different way. “American Sniper” relies largely on its contemporary story line: It’s a story for today that allows Americans, especially military families, to see themselves onscreen. This film, on the other hand, is a period piece set during World War II, arguably Hollywood’s favorite time period from the past. So, it must rely on execution to move its audience. (Yes, there’s nothing new here, but so what?) Like a wave, it washes over you.

Verdict: Good to Very Good

About: (Source: unbrokenfilm.com)

Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces UNBROKEN, an epic drama that follows the incredible life of olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII – only to be caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s (“Seabiscuit: An American Legend”) enormously popular book UNBROKEN brings to the big screen Zamperini’s unbelievable and inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit. Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces UNBROKEN, an epic drama that follows the incredible life of olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII – only to be caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.