Unbroken

Unbroken has been marketed as a major Oscar contender, however with many of the critic reviews, I doubt this movie will win too many Oscars. Despite that, Unbroken is still a great movie, and is sure to be a major crowd-pleaser. Not only is this an amazing, touching story, but it is also handled with great talent in an emotionally satisfying fashion. Even though some scenes can be hard to sit through for some, the payoff is worth the journey. The acting is just superb; and while it is unclear whether or not the film will win any awards, Jack O'Connell, the lead actor, is fully deserving of a Best Actor nomination. He carries most of the film on his shoulders, and he is what pushes Unbroken from a good movie to a great movie. The direction is also handled very well, with many elegant shots that make the subject matter feel even more real to the audience. There was one shot in particular that, coupled with a very well done sound effect, made everyone in the (very crowded) theatre jump in their seats. Afterwards, people laughed and smiled among themselves, not at the movie itself, but at themselves. This scene brought the audience closer together for the emotional ride that was unfolding. There were however, some problems with the movie, all of which were to do with the pacing. The movie clocks in at over two hours and fifteen minutes. While most of the time is necessary to tell the story, it doesn't hide the fact that the movie feels long in some parts. During one of the slower moving sequences of the film, I thought to myself that the movie must be ending soon, but upon checking the time, I found that there was still over half an hour to go. Despite some scenes feeling very long, the ending was surprisingly abrupt. Maybe that's just how things happen in war; abruptly. That is how the movie portrays it, and while it may be accurate, I was still surprised at how little buildup there was towards the ending. It just sort of "happened". Overall, Unbroken is a great film with a fantastic lead performance from Jack O'Connell, and solid direction from Angelina Jolie. It tells a heartbreaking, yet uplifting story, but sometimes falters with its own pacing.