Often in film depictions of historical events, especially those of major wars, events and emotions are exaggerated for dramatic purposes. This is particularly true of the Revolutionary War, as the cultural romanticism that revolves around our nation’s history holds that conflict up as the defining moment of America’s character. Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot is one such film, giving the American Revolution the 20th century blockbuster treatment by painting a broad, melodramatic picture of the Revolutionary war as being a fight of begrudging soldiers against animalistic tyrants. While the film itself is an exciting, dramatic and thrilling ride, its resemblance to the real events and people of the Revolutionary War is loose and unrealistic.
The major points being made about the Revolution in The Patriot revolve around the ultimate righteousness of Mel Gibson’s character, Benjamin Martin. Ben Martin, the main character, grapples with his skill in fighting and his desire to stay out of the Revolutionary War. Martin is said to be a composite of several real figures in American history, including Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” who was a South Carolinian militia leader. Unlike the highly moral and principled Ben Martin, however, Marion was shown to be a man who committed many atrocities in his time, particularly focused on the Native Americans in the French and Indian War. While Martin in the film expresses some guilt over what he did, there is no indicator that Marion had these kinds of qualms. Another odd attribute to Martin in the film is that he works on a farm with many black farmhands; however, the film takes great pains to point out that they were not slaves, but freedmen who chose to work Martin’s farm for pay. This seems like a disingenuous way to make Martin seem like more of a hero, when even principled men in the 1700s would have owned slaves. As Marion owned slaves, this is an uncomfortable whitewashing of the character.
While the Americans are largely portrayed as good guys, honest, hard-working people with families and a deep love for their fellow man, the British enemies are shown to be moustache-twirling villains of the classic mold. Jason Isaac’s Colonel Tavington is the typical kind of sneering, effete English madman that has existed in action films for decades, and his cruelty and lack of care for his fellow man is shown in several scenes. His villainy is established when he personally kills not one, but two of Martin’s sons, the first of which is a young, defenseless boy. He is also responsible for the boarding up and burning of a church with many innocent people inside – an atrocity that is uncharacteristic of historical portraits of English officers during the Revolution. Tavington is largely based on the real general Tarleton, to whom many of his men’s atrocities were attributed, but who is much less of a villain than Isaacs plays him in the film.
The use of strong, dramatic images and symbols in the film elevates the fight for independence in American history as a fight for family, freedom and righteousness. During the final battle, in particular, Martin runs toward the invading British army holding an American flag aloft - something that likely did not happen in the real Battle of Cowpens, but is merely a way for the director to show Martin as the symbol of American patriotism. Thomas’s collection of metal toy soldiers is also a symbolic metaphor for Martin’s gradual slide back into violence – particularly as Martin keeps melting them down to make musket balls throughout the film, eroding his innocence and peaceful nature one by one. These symbols, when combined, create a simplistic and broad picture of American patriotism as one in which you have to fight to prove yourself a) a man, b) a father and c) a true American.
Though The Patriot is an exciting film to watch, with strong performances, gorgeous cinematography and thrilling fight scenes, it does not provide a very accurate picture of the Revolutionary War as it occurred. Because of the need to make the heroes so heroic and the villains so villainous, there is little nuance left in the discussions about why America wanted to declare independence. The British Army and their soldiers are almost cartoonish in their evil natures, their personalities heightened to the point where they do not resemble people any more. The toothless way in which the film depicts slavery is also false to the time period. No actual enslaved black characters are depicted; everyone is either a freedman or indentured servant, and one minor black militiaman is in the military to earn his freedom. The film presents the vision of America as an innocent place full of almost completely good people who struggle to free themselves from the murderous intentions of the British government.
Works Cited
Emmerich, Roland (dir.) The Patriot. Perf. Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs. Columbia
Pictures, 2000. Film.
Fenton, Ben. "Truth is first casualty in Hollywood's war". The Daily Telegraph (June 19, 2000).
Lind, Michael. "Unpatriotic: Gibson's patriot is Sonny Corleone, not Sgt. York". Slate (July 28,
2000). http://www.slate.com/articles/briefing/articles/2000/07/unpatriotic.single.html.
Malanowski, Jamie. "Film: The Revolutionary War is Lost on Hollywood". The New York Times
(July 2, 2000). http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/02/movies/film-the-revolutionary-war-is-lost-on-hollywood.html?scp=7&sq.
