While “Hacksaw Ridge” presents a distinctly American WWII tale, the film is surprisingly shot completely in Australia, but it seems that only pushed lead actor Andrew Garfield even further to make sure his portrayal of conscientious objector Desmond Doss hit all the right notes. And director Mel Gibson was impressed by the actor’s commitment to the role.
“He’s the nicest guy on earth, and very talented. He gets completely immersed. I don’t work like that personally — probably shows — but I’m not knocking it. It works. He never slipped out of character the whole time he was in this country. He never let the accent go, but he functioned in conversation with wit and spontaneity. He wasn’t some kind of robot,” the director said at the Sydney Film Festival (via IF).
Co-starring Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh, Rachel Griffiths, Teresa Palmer, Luke Bracey, and Sam Worthington, the movie tells the story of Doss, who refused to fire a weapon, but still managed heroics during the war that earned him the Congressional Medal Of Honor. Here’s the official synopsis:
HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of conscientious collaborator Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He believed the war was just, but killing was nevertheless wrong; he was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon. As an army medic, Doss single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. He was the first conscientious objector to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.
“Hacksaw Ridge” opens on November 4th, and will premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
