Devotion (2022) – Moving struggle

Genre:  War Movie

Platform: Amazon Prime – rent

Length – 2 Hours 20 minutes

Director:  J.D.Dillard

Cast: Jonathan Majors (Jesse Brown). Glen Powell (Tom Hudner). Christina Jackson (Daisy Brown).

Plot:  June 1950. The Korean War broke out when Communist/ Chinese supported North Korea invaded “democratic”/ American supported South Korea. Technically the war is not yet over – there is only a cease fire till date. The poorly equipped and prepared South Korean Army and its American allies ran all the way to the Southernmost tip of Korea and held a tiny piece of ground around Pusan, known as the Pusan perimeter. Timely intervention by American airpower and General Douglas MacArthur’s daring amphibious landing behind the North Korean lines at Inchon, saw the North Koreans retreating all the way back. By December 1950 when it looked as if the North Koreans would be routed, Communist China joined the ‘fraternal allies’ and attacked the “UN Forces”. The sheer weight of numbers and their surprise attacks saw the “UN forces” being thrown back , across the 38^th parallel which was the dividing line between North and South Korea.

Against this background, Ensign Jesse Brown, a black fighter pilot, is posted as an F4 Corsair fighter pilot on board an American carrier. Along with his white best friend and fellow fighter pilot Tom Hudner, they fly their WW2 era piston engine fighters against the increasing number of Russian built Chinese flown Mig 15 jet fighters ….

The US Military was the first to integrate totally before American civilians started accepting Blacks as equals. By the 1960s era/ Vietnam war, Daniel “Chappie” James had become the first black pilot to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the US Air Force. At the same time, American civilian society was facing increasing confrontations.

Jesse Brown’s story is no different than those born to black poverty in Mississippi, struggling for his rights, being the first black pilot to complete the flying training and also the first black pilot to be killed in the Korean War, while on combat duty.  The US Navy even had a frigate named after him.

So how does the film differ from the real life? What masala is stirred into the film to give that cringe effect? Surprisingly there is very little masala and the film focuses more on the friendship between Brown and Hudner. Hudner landing his plane to save his friend sounds fully filmy and unbelievable but it is a recorded event for which Hudner received the highest medal , the Medal of Honor. In a tragedy that befits the occasion and is a commentary on war, perhaps all wars,  Brown’s plane crashed while on combat duty and his body was never recovered.

All these and more are told in a matter-of-fact way without any major embellishments or masala. Amazingly four actual surviving F4 Corsairs, an A1 Skyraider, a Mig 15 were all used for the filming and painted in the colors of the Korean war on both sides, for the air to air and air to ground scenes. There is also a healthy mix of some CGI/ VFX.

Yet we feel something is missing in the film. Perhaps its due to the somewhat indifferent performances from the lead players. Given that it is such an important story, one would have thought it would be more dramatic. If anything, the black-white melodrama is downplayed to the point of insignificance and the emphasis is on the friendship.

Script –3 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 4 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

VFX/ Real Planes – 4 out of 5

 Total – 3.8 out of 5