What Happened to the Editor? ***
Why is it that whenever filmmakers set out to tell the tale of a war
or an epic battle in human history that they feel the need to make the film as long as
possible. Just because the story that you are telling is of so-called
"epic" proportions does not mean that the film has to be. The Patriot is a perfect example of a film that would have
been so much better had it been an hour shorter for it would definitely made it a far
tighter and interesting account of what is a very interesting story.
Only an truly exceptional film can effectively carry a story over
anywhere close to three hours without any slow points. In fact, the great three hour
films are the ones that you could have sworn ran for only two hours, such was the film's
effectiveness in completely immersing its audience in its story.
Unfortunately, The Patriot does not hold our attention throughout
its 164 minute running time and, despite some excellent scenes, only makes you think of
how much better it could have been had the filmmakers not been so intent on making their
own "epic" film.
The reasons why The Patriot simply does not work as a three hour
movie are quite clear. The writer/filmmakers simply haven't got enough material to
fill the screen time and instead they have implemented many sub-plots that only serve to
take the focus of what the film is about.
All of the sub-plots are pulling in different directions and as
result they become little more than time-filling material that could have easily
been edited out.
The Patriot does manage to stop itself from becoming a completely
muddled mess, thanks largely to two ultra-impressive performances from Australian's Mel
Gibson and Heath Ledger.
Both actors have quite extraordinary screen presence (that's quite a
complement for Ledger considering it is his first major Hollywood role*) and the scenes
with just the two of them are quite outstanding; worth seeing the film for alone.
The rest of the film, however, never manages to fully demand your
attention and in all honesty you will be glad when the film finally ends.
The battle scenes are quite disappointing to say the least and the
producers would have been better off getting Mel Gibson to direct the battle scenes
because he showed with Braveheart a capability to make the
audience feel like they were right in the middle of the battle, something that this film
does not manage to do.
Maybe the director's cut of this film will be better. Of
course, it would have to go against the trend of most director's cuts and edit 40 minutes
of footage from the film instead of adding 40 minutes to it. That would definitely
make The Patriot a much more enjoyable film.
- Adam Matthews
