“Glory” tells the historical account of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment – the Union Army’s second African-American regiment in the American Civil War. It’s a great film to feature for the upcoming Black History Month.
Shot in 1989, “Glory” features a top of the line cast, with some Hollywood powerhouses in very early roles. It would receive five Academy Award nominations, and win three, and place itself in the top echelon of war movies.
The opening battle holds no punches with its brutality, blood, and carnage. We get a quick glimpse of the terrors of 19th Century warfare, and you’ll watch in amazement and wonder at how any disagreements could reach such barbarous levels. The film earns its ‘R’ rating within the first few minutes, but it’s never unnecessary in its depiction of mayhem.
The 54th is headed by Boston abolitionist, Captain Robert Shaw (Matthew Broderick) – who is just 23 years old at the onset of the war. The movie is told through the actual letters Shaw wrote to family from the front lines. Shaw leads the platoon accompanied by fictitious fellow officers, close friend Major Forbes (Cary Elwes), and Sergeant Major Mulcahy (John Finn), a tough as nails Irish drill-sergeant who uses abusive love tactics to get the men ready for battle.
We focus on four soldiers in the troop under the command of Shaw; educated free Bostonian Thomas (Andre Braugher), simple southern country boy Jupiter (Jihmi Kennedy), quiet elder statesman John (Morgan Freeman) and hot-headed Trip (Denzel Washington). “Glory” would serve as a breakout for Washington, who would go on to win the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. As Trip, Washington gives us the complete picture of a man who has lived a thousand lives in his young and tattered body.
The film goes to great lengths to invest the audience in the different backgrounds and eventual comradery of these men. Thomas is proud to teach Jupiter how to read. Trip, an escaped slave, has the greatest insight on the struggles of the black men, even though his confrontational antics rub everyone the wrong way. We the viewer learn to love the kinship that these men establish, as well as the personal growth of Captain Shaw, with their ultimate demise coming at the infamous Battle of Fort Wagner.
“Glory” looks clean in its presentation and on screen talent, and has a certain vibrancy with the color palate that, while aesthetically appealing, adds to what I feel is the only drawback, albeit a minor one. The cinematography and overall production make the movie look great – but almost too much like a movie. You never get the real sense that it’s the time of the Civil War. The historical inaccuracies are cosmetic at best, but you never feel as though you are learning anything. It’s like watching “Titanic” for a school report on the sinking of the ship.
And while the cast is phenomenal, it’s challenging to picture cinema greats like Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman as destitute former slaves, no matter how good they are at acting. And while Matthew Broderick is fine in the role of Captain Shaw, this film comes just three years after his signature “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and it’s tough to watch him and not think he’s just Ferris in a costume trying to ditch school.
Despite those superficial criticisms “Glory” is a great film. It’s uplifting and poignant, even in today’s world. Watch it to appreciate Black History Month, or just a really good war movie.
