Page 7 - The Patriot:
Mel Gibson strikes again Con't
Gibson's character, Benjamin Martin, in The Patriot is the source of
almost all of the unpopular aspects: black employees, brings his young sons
along for an ambush, kills British soldiers in cold blood after they surrender,
and shows faith in God through several prayers during the film. Off screen Gibson
has also irritated liberals because of his Catholic faith, vocal opposition
to abortion and support of the right to bear arms, although he has said that
he would not give his own children easy access to guns.
Gay rights activists joined the protests against Gibson because of Gibson's
"homophobic" direction of wimpy homosexual Edward II in Braveheart.
Because of his box-office status, Gibson now has enough power to order script
changes. Those who protest the film believe that he should have demanded such
changes to the script of The Patriot and since he did not, he advocates
the film's treatment of history.
A Closer Look at The Patriot
British Colonel William Tavington is the movie's main villain, which is established
moments after his first appearance, when he shoots Benjamin Martin's second
oldest son in the back as the sixteen-year-old boy makes an ill-advised attempt
to free his older brother. The character of Tavington is nearly a two-dimensional
stock Hollywood villain, saved only by Jason Isaac's acting.
Interestingly, three deleted scenes found on the DVD release of the movie would
have rounded the character of Tavington. The first scene following the Battle
of Camden has Tavington being publicly chastised by General Cornwallis in front
of the other officers and portrays him as an outsider. The second scene set
during his extreme search for Benjamin Martin has Tavington admiring a beautiful
morning. The third scene follows his fight with Gabriel Martin and has him desperate
to be on the field of battle, so he can share the glory and the reward of victory,
which builds on his desperation due to his lack of inheritance.
Director Roland Emmerich explains on the DVD commentary that these scenes were
eliminated from the final cut in order to quickly establish Tavington as the
villain. Because he is the main villain, all judgments of the film's portrayal
of the British were based on his character, but closer inspection of the film
contradicts some of the arguments that the film portrays all British as 'bad'.
Just prior to Tavington's first appearance in the film, a British lieutenant
arrives at the Martin farm. He thanks Benjamin Martin for the care given to
British wounded. The same lieutenant is later appalled by Tavington's orders
to kill the wounded Continental/Patriot soldiers and burn the Martin home. He
complies out of fear and the chain of command after he watches Tavington shoot
Benjamin Martin's second son, Thomas.
Tavington's superior, General Cornwallis, is not portrayed as a brutal man either.
The real Lieutenant General Charles, Earl Cornwallis was well liked by his men,
because he often went to the heat of battle, endangering his own life, to encourage
his men. This conflicts with the somewhat pompous and older Cornwallis, who
watches the battles from afar, portrayed in the movie. Even so, Cornwallis the
character is a man of dignity who tries to rein in Tavington and his tactics
as early as after the Battle of Camden in a deleted scene found on the DVD.
