Unbroken (2014)

[CJohn]

Discuss it!

[Dementeleus]

For now, it's a B for me (a high B ). I thought Jolie did an excellent job from what was scripted, but there are two things I think she (and the Coens) missed out on (one minor, one major). First the minor one: I don't think it's very clear (especially not to someone who didn't read the book), that the Bird's torture of Zamperini ruined any chance he had at competitive running ever again (and that was one of the things he held onto through the POW years). We were missing that moment of complete rock bottom when he would've been told "you're never gonna run a race again".

Which leads me to the major omission: the final chapters of the book, which are reduced to a mere (and literal) footnote at the end. We've seen this man go through hell, and survive.... but for what? How has he changed as a human being? The story of someone who has the determination and strength to survive what he did is a very good one; the story of someone who's changed by those experiences to become a humanitarian who seeks out his tormentors and forgives them is an extraordinary one. The movie really needed that extra 20 minutes or so to paint the post-WWII years of his life, even if only in brief, broad strokes. (And I would've found those 20 minutes by condensing some of the prison stuff -- especially the first, Pacific island camp.)

So, a B. Solid effort.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Telemachos

[Gopher]

^^ All of that. I think Jolie should have started the film with the lifeboat reaching the Japanese ship and continued though his PTSD. The faith-driven "take it till you make it" mentality is put into question in Zamperini's post-WW2 life and that's the far more interesting conflict to me. 

 

But I agree that Jolie demonstrates an eye for directing, and it's hard not to be entertained by Deakins visuals and a Desplat score.

[Rorschach]

The Definition of a B

[rockNrollaDIM]

This was good, almost very good, but not outstanding. What I'm most shocked about is how *not* conventional it is. Everyone was harping about this being an AMPAS catnip, by the numbers, etc etc but in the end I found myself thinking Jolie went out of her way not to make this an easy to digest crowd pleaser. The choices here are bold even if it doesn't fully work in the end - case in point, I would have preferred to swap 15 minutes of prison camp for 15 minutes of postwar life - alcoholism, religious conversion, forgiving his captors, anything.

 

Instead Jolie decides to hammer home on the brutality, and she's unrelentless. The scene where the other POWs line up to punch Louis is gut-wrenching and it really puts you in his shoes. But after so much of that, it becomes drawn out and the viewer becomes numb to it. So while it doesn't quite benefit the storytelling, you can't say that it was an easy choice or conventional way to convey the message.

 

My favorite sequence by far is the "lost at sea" chapter. How fucking beautiful (Deakins+++) and subtle while also totally harrowing. The shark and air attacks are thrilling and I found myself crying when Mack died, unlikable as he was. So well acted by all three guys O'Connell, Gleeson, and Wittrock.

 

Jack O'Connell is great as Zamperini, and I'm really glad they chose a relative unknown versus a name-movie star. And MIYAVI wow, he was a fantastic sadist, with his fixation on Louis veering into psychosexual territory. Very impressive debut performance.

 

Jolie has her own vision as a director, doesn't pander to the audience, and isn't skating by on her celebrity. By my count she has now made two films about war and prison camps, but her next is a complete departure as an "indie" romance (if it stars Brangelina is it really indie?) set in 1970s France.

 

B+

Edited December 27, 2014 by aDIM Stormborn

[Empire]

A-(91)

[4815162342]

B+

[Cmasterclay]

I thought it was quite good but at the same time it would have been impossible for it to be bad, if that makes any sense. It's generally a, er, markable telling of an absolutely remarkable story. With such a moving true story, and a crew consisting of Deakins, Desplat, and the Coens, it would have been tough for it to get messed up, so Jolie and the cast certainly did a fine job. At the same time, I felt it was good to the near minimum of what it could be, given the story and all it had going for it. That said, it's a solid watch. The cast is excellent- O'Donnell absolutely kills it, and Miyavi is an exceedingly watchable psychopath- great job by him. Even Jai Courtney does nice work. Jolie has a steady hand in directing, and unlike others in this thread, I don't really have beef with WHAT story she was trying to tell- the story of a brave man surviving one incredibly harrowing experience, not necessarily a broader story about his life and transformations. I thought she did a great job establishing tone and making the audience feel something. That said, and this is maybe more of a writing critique, it really could have used more conversation and character development in the camps. We learn nothing new about Louis once he reaches the second camp except that he's brave and a survivor. Beyond that, we get no real conversations or character moments for him conveyed through dialogue. What really would have improved this film is cutting about twenty minutes of torture and raft-action scenes and replacing it with more flashbacks, dialogue with other prisoners, and even visions. It would have made the feel less repetative and more memorable and engaging all the way through. That all said, glad I saw it, for sure.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

The film average to be but I was hoping for him based on what this movie could have been. I thought there was too much time spent on POW part of his life and would like to see more of his life afterwards on how he forgives and turns his life into humanitarian cause.  Jack O'Connell did a great job and the supporting cast around him. Joile did a great but I think she should have saved this movie for later on her career since a lot of the emotional impacts did not hit me. All the tech aspect are great. Jolie did a great job  directing the parts inside the airplane. It is worth the see 

3/5 

[Impact]

Saw this yesterday.

Really loved it and well made.

I will post more when I get back, at Disneyland now

[Blankments]

Well, I thought it was bad. There's a lot of good bits in here, don't get me wrong, but Jolie either doesn't know when to let a moment linger or when to cut a moment short. The movie felt sorely missing something at the end too. O'Connell was good though, even though I felt like he was underwritten. I didn't give a shit about Louie in this. Sorry, it just didn't work for me at all. C-

[Vanilla]

Great story in a pretty good film. Probably the most crowd pleasing IMO this year.

8/10

[The Panda]

I saw it the other day and had similar problems as everyone else. The first half or so was strong but then it devolves into a a torture porn flick with no substance and just kind of ends. I wouldn't have minded all of the PoW stuff if Jolie spent more time developing character and relationships and how they changed during that time with the violence, because the violence itself became less impactful each time.

I also, like Tele said, wanted at bare minimum 10 minutes or so showing him going and forgiving his captors, that would have made payoff for the PoW section. Seeing him follow through as a changed man I feel needed to be in the movie because without it everything beforehand really lost its impact.

The movie as it stands is very hollow, despite good cinematography and performances. Jack O'Connell was very strong but they really did not give him enough to work with.

[Impact]

I was glad they didn't try to pc this.

This man was a true hero.

[Blankments]

I really don't see the need to bring up "P.C." or anything related to those words really ever but whatever

[CoolioD1]

As written in this the main guy is a tremendously dull focus. I've no doubt he's much more interesting in real life. But I knew a tiny bit about him going into this film and I knew exactly as much about him leaving it. the whole movie is the blandest type of hero-worship. 

[filmlover]

Interesting, though flawed. Angelina Jolie does a solid directing job going through the highlights of Louis Zamperini's life, though I wished it wasn't so emotionally distant most of the time. Jack O'Connell and Roger Deakins' unsurprisingly top-notch cinematography are terrific, though. B

[Asyulus]

D

 

Not very appleased with Unbroken's story.

[Jessie]

This film was soulless

[Jessie]

Great story in a pretty good film. Probably the most crowd pleasing IMO this year.

8/10

 

No way lol, not even close