{"id":1783,"date":"2022-12-14T22:17:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T22:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatshouldbeamoviewebseries.com\/?p=1783"},"modified":"2024-08-08T02:02:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T02:02:11","slug":"movie-review-devotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thatshouldbeamoviewebseries.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/14\/movie-review-devotion\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: Devotion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Go see Devotion<\/em> in theaters! You will consider it time well spent and will not regret the $7-$15 price of a ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do not usually do movie reviews, but since I have written a blogpost<\/a> about Adam Makos\u2019 book, I have decided to give my thoughts on J. D. Dillard\u2019s adaption. Who knows, I might reread The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind<\/a><\/em> by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer and The River of Doubt<\/a><\/em> by Candice Millard and do reviews of their Netflix and HBO Max adaptions, respectfully. I probably will not do a review of The Good Lord Bird <\/em>which is both based on a novel and more of a satire than a serious look at John Brown\u2019s raid on Harpers Ferry, on which I have also done an episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Devotion<\/em> is probably one of the greatest movies I have seen in theaters in a long time. In an era where the majority of films seem to be either a low budget tutorial in camera placement or bloated superhero and action films that throw everything at the wall to see what will stick, quick editing and fancy CGI distracting from poor storytelling, the directing of J. D. Dillard and the cinematography of Erik Messerschmidt stands out as pure cinema. The camera work is stunningly beautiful and breathtaking. The shots of the aircraft in flight are gorgeous. While a lot of current movies start off with an establishing shot and then introduce us to the main character before thrusting us right into the story, Devotion\u2019s opening montage of the aircraft sets the mood and takes the audience on an emotional journey into the lives of the characters. It was both something new and different, harkening back to the films of the eighties and 90s. Instead of conversations between characters being a series of over-the-shoulder shots, medium shots and close-up shots, J. D. Dillard gives the actors time to establish their presence, carrying the scene with their acting and bouncing off each other. Every camera angle, shot, insert shot, and edit has a purpose in telling the story and creating emotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the kind of filmmaking we need more of these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like the film and theater industry is at a crossroads like the one they faced in the 1950s. In response to the competition from television, studios invested in CinemaScope, Panavision, and other aspect ratios that could not be appreciated on small screens. They used this technology to tell stories with lavish, epic productions. Some of these films have stood the test of time, like Ben-Hur. Others, like Around The World In 80 Days, have not. Some, like Cleopatra, were bombs in their own time. We saw something similar with the advent of GCI and computer animation and the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. All the studios were trying to remake and retail classics and epics with over-the-top CGI and leave them open-ended for trilogies. Some were successful. Others were not, partly due to an audience tired of remakes, reboots, and sequels. In the past decade, studios have tried to copy the success of Marvel with their own cinematic universes. Yeah, those did not go well. Now in the past few years with the competition from a dozen streaming services with cinematic-worthy content, it seems like studios are investing in filmmakers who are telling stories with fancy editing, camera work, non-linear structures, aspect ratios, and sound design that can only truly be appreciated on the big screen. Sometimes the art is stunning, but the stories are lackluster or boring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, I suggest everyone go see Devotion<\/em>. It is an interesting story told with beautiful art. It is also not an over-the-top GCI remake, reboot, sequel, prequel, or franchise that everyone is always complaining about there being too many of.<\/p>\n\n\n

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One problem I did have with the film was the pacing. I have seen some reviews say that it seemed like a series of scenes strung together. If you\u2019re expecting a film that follows the three-act structure from a screenwriting book or an action film in which all the story beats are hit at certain time marks, I could see your point. I agree that the scene of the sailors and aviators hanging out in Cannes could probably be cut by about ten minutes. I did remember during one dialogue scene wondering how long the film was, but I never checked my watch as I\u2019ve done with other films, including superhero movies. But the film was not just a series of scenes strung together. Watch films like the original Red Dawn, Driving Miss Daisey, The Last Emperor, and Tender Mercies or survival films like The Pianist or 12 Years A Slave and you will see that there are themes, character arcs, and relationship development occurring within the seemingly random scenes. The film is a visual medium in which the story is told through actions, not dialogue delivered before a camera. It takes time for the development of Jesse and Tom\u2019s friendship to be told visually. That\u2019s why, other than the time spent in Cannes, I don\u2019t have an issue with the pacing in Devotion<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problems I did have with Devotion <\/em>stem more from choices that the director and writers made with the adaption of Makos\u2019 book. I\u2019m not saying that they\u2019re bad directors or writers. I\u2019m just saying that I would have done things differently if I had written the screenplay the adaption of Makos\u2019 book. It\u2019s preferring the Dutch Masters and Norman Rockwell over Claude Monte and Vincent van Gogh. Monte and van Goth are not bad, I just prefer Rockwell and Vermeer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you have not seen Devotion<\/em> yet, read no further, because SPOILERS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll give you time to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you gone yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, you there, in Alexandria, Louisiana, who has not seen the film yet. Get out of here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you gone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said, the choices that Dillard and the writers Jonathan Stewart and Jake Crane made were not bad, I just would have made other ones. For example, I would have included the funeral flight in which Jesse was given a Viking funeral as a pilot recited the Lord\u2019s Prayer. However, Dillard decided to have Tom stand on the empty flight deck alone, by himself as the planes in the funeral flight take off. It is a powerful scene representing loss and mourning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n