The British actor has sealed his place in Hollywood after playing this harrowing role.

Director: Angelina Jolie 

Staring: Jack O’Connell, Domhall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Takamasa Ishiara, Finn Wittrock, Jai Courtney

Certificate: 12

Running Time: 137 minutes

Release Date: 26th December, 2014

The core message that rings so fiercely within director Angelina Jolie‘s World War II biopic, Unbroken, is echoed to audiences very early on with a wonderful message from our hero’s brother; “If you can take it, you can make it“. How true this will become as Jolie weaves the harrowing story of Louis Zamperini as he is put through physical and mental torture while captured in a Japanese War Camp in World War II. 

British actor, Jack O’Connell stars as Zamperini and skillfully embodies each emotional level of strain as audiences experience the different parts of his extraordinary story. In 1936 Zamperini ran his way to the Olympics with great help from his supportive brother, Peter, after he see’s his young sibling dabble in a childhood of petty crime, drink and fighting. However, the War interrupts his dreams of Olympic stardom and Zamperini finds himself in the American Army Air Forces as a bombardier. Louis is soon on a rescue mission with his crew, but disaster strikes as his plane fails and they are forced to crash into the ocean. 

Louis’ real struggle starts here as both he and two other survivors, Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mac (Finn Wittrock) face a long 47 day stint bobbling along the vicious current in two small rafts. Jolie pulls no punches in prolonging Louis’ horrific experiences in being stranded. The audience get just a small glimpse at the despair Louis and his friends felt, fighting the beating sun, hungry sharks and the struggle not to lose their minds. All three actors give such wonderful performances and this section of the narrative really introduces the phenomenal performance O’Connell is about to give. 

Louis’ tale of determination only worsens when he is picked up and caught by the Japanese Navy and becomes a prisoner of War. Jolie isn’t afraid to kick up the violence notch to full pelt as Zamperini is put through some of the most harrowing, hateful and shocking violence, particularly from Mutshrio “Bird” Watanabe, played so wonderfully menacing by Takamasa Ishihara. This works in UNBROKEN’s favour as it skirts the edge of unnecessary, but hits all the right marks of rightfully uncomfortable. It’s empathetic and will no doubt provoke it’s fair share of horrified gasps from its audience. 

In the same way, Jolie bravely showcased the physical changes in these poor captives, as scenes of O’Connell’s and Gleeson’s naked, starved bodies will plague viewers minds long after the film ends. Almost as harsh as the moments of violence and torture, the painful scenes in which the boys look so hollow and weak are haunting. It’s moments that these within UNBROKEN that one can really feel Jolie’s keen need to showcase a true, faithful and painfully realistic story. 

Jack O’Connell’s performance is absolutely inspiring, his transformation from Brit Grit television actor to Hollywood star is certainly solidified with his mirroring of the wonderfully determined and so inspiringly controlled Louis Zamperini. O’Connell has moments of pure sensitivity that make him so completely open to audiences that it is almost humbling to watch. He then surges into such ferocious passion that one becomes uplifted with him, with Louis. There is great skill in appearing so approachable yet inspiring and this is most definitely something O’Connell has confidently built. 

What’s so difficult about UNBROKEN is that, individually, all efforts are fantastic, yet it feels only slightly underwhelming, as if it is respectful to a fault. While Jolie flirts with a non-linear narrative that indulges in a few flashbacks, it becomes slightly predicable and allows the story to drag slightly. Following similar style, there is much of UNBROKEN that falls under the ‘cheese’ file, scenes of Louis envisioning himself running in the sun while getting the beating of his life fall a little short. Still, Jolie sticks to her guns in making the movie a traditional War biopic and that in itself is commendable.  

The absolute genius of UNBROKEN though is the ending. Without giving away too much, it is truly a wonderfully inspiring and gut wrenching end. It is within this that one can forgive much of the predictability and stiffness of its narrative, as it ends with a hopefulness that O’Connell allows his performance of Louis to cling on to throughout this unbelievable story. 

Verdict

Please follow and like us: