Unbreakable

“Survival. Resilience. Redemption.”  So goes the tagline of Angelina Jolie’s second directorial feature ‘Unbroken,’ the unbelievable-yet-true WWII survival tale based on Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 non-fiction book of the same name.  In her own words, what drew the actress-cum-director to bring Louis “Louie” Zamperini’s story on-screen is that it’s about a man “who tries really, really hard.”  That much is true; Louie’s story is one that has to be seen (or read) to be believed.

The feat of portraying Louie Zamperini falls to British newcomer Jack O’Connell.  With his innocent, boyish aspect, it’s not too much of a stretch to see how he could be so naïve that such notions as “giving up” and “admitting defeat” would never occur to him despite the best efforts of POW camp guard Mutsuhiro “Bird” Watanabe (Takamasa Ishihara aka “Miyavi”) to break him, culminating with the Herculean scene in which he lifted a heavy beam above his head that brings to mind Jesus Christ bearing the cross for our sins (see poster below).

‘Unbroken’ is filled with cheesy-but-inspiring sound bites such as “If you can take it, you can make it” and “One moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory.”  Platitudes aside, however, ‘Unbroken’ not only serves as a fitting tribute to a remarkable World War II veteran but also a testament to the enduring human spirit. To criticize such a “feel good” movie would be impolitic and un-American on my part, but thankfully I won’t have to because ‘Unbroken,’ co-written by the Coen brothers, is a solid yarn which demonstrates that Angelina Jolie may yet become a better director than she is an actress.

Grade: B+