Unbroken is the true life tale of world famous Olympian Louis Zamperini, who during the Second World War was held as a prisoner by the Japanese. So I suppose the reel question is will this biographical war thriller be a Chariot Of Fire or just some Blazing Saddles?
Considering the amount of fuss that was made about Angelina Jolie being the director you would have thought that Unbroken would have been more… distinctive in its stylisation. This is the case all too often with actors who turn directors, they want to play the cards safe for their first few features before stepping out into the great unknown, and that’s just how Unbroken feels, like a safe bet.
It has none of the snap or inventiveness of a Life Of Pi or the character development of The Railway Man, because the movie doesn’t want to tie itself down as being just a war film or a sports movie; it ends up being neither of them. The film is based in the war time drama (that would be considered the current state of time) whilst Jolie splices in chunks from Zaperini’s past as the memories become appropriate.
It’s not as though we can blame the writers either, seeing as it was written by the Coen brothers. If I was to trust two men to write an interesting story it would be them. Likewise the acting is first rate all the way across the board. So it’s not the writing, it’s not really the directing and it’s not the acting. Then what is it that makes Unbroken so average?
Is it the story itself? Do I dare suggest that a war veteran’s story could be boring? No. I can’t say that because if anyone was to look at Zaperini’s life we would know that he lived an extraordinary life, so why do I feel so apthetic toward the piece?
I truly feel the proof is in the pudding – it has (probably) all the facts but none of the flavour. Unbroken ticks every single “safety” box going, and each pivotal scene (the railway scene for example) is bookended by moments that feel like they mean nothing, there is no moment of real climax, the events unfold in front of us in the order that seems logical.
Ironically the film itself feels like a long distance run just to see it through to the end.
While the acting is first rate and the story might be gripping, the presentation is what lets Unbroken down, making me wonder if it would ever actually see the winner’s podium.
2/5
by Robert Lucas
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