Devotion (2023)

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski

Director: J. D. Dillard

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong language, some war action/violence, and smoking

Once upon a time, I used to be able to show up at the theater for a war film and leave smarter, entertained, and inspired.  This is what historically based (war-centered in particular) movies are typically supposed to do, inspire us to be a better citizen and leave us clapping for the good ole stars and stripes.  If you don’t feel like joining the military after watching a film like Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge or Midway then you need to watch them again.

I had every intention of going to the theater to see this latest war pic, Devotion.  I was honestly surprised to hear this story was set during the Korean War.  Other than 11 seasons of the TV series M*A*S*H, I have not seen a movie portraying the story of a character in the Korean War.  I was thrilled and the trailer set me up for some big excitement.  Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the theater, but I did borrow it from the library just in time to end up sick and home from work for 24 hours!

There was definitely some excitement in this movie; however, I finished it feeling less than inspired.  If anything, I was actually quite sobered.

It’s hard to be a navy pilot.

Over and over again, Devotion reminds us that it is the flying of planes that makes Jesse Brown’s job difficult, not the fact that he is black.  These are the shining moments of Jesse Brown and his comrades.  His unit is uniquely free from any slurs, slang, or racial banter.  There are comments of course – the outside world still has trouble enough comprehending that there is a black man flying a plane for the U.S. Navy.  However, this is only part of how the racial issue is dealt with.  Jesse and Tom Hudner slowly build a quiet, but supportive friendship.  I doubt this is unique, not every white man in the 1950s hated the thought of working with a black man.  But the gentle and even normal way in which their friendship begins and continues struck me as countercultural.  Tom patiently continues to smile and help Jesse, even while Jesse remains somewhat aloof (until his wife encourages him to “be nice”).

Jesse’s aloofness brings me to the other way in which the racial issue is dealt with here.  Now, I realize there is a book under the same title written by Adam Makos.  I haven’t read the book; therefore, I’m not sure how Jesse was in real life.  However, he is portrayed in the film as focusing on the horrific things people have said to him and about him.  I found myself wondering why he hasn’t committed suicide, but perhaps that’s my modern, 2020s cultural understanding.  We live in a world where we can hardly handle a negative comment, let alone consistent and overbearing criticism.  The point is, Jesse focuses in on the bad things people have said to motivate him to continue and to excel.  This is not admirable.  Let me tell you why.

First, practically speaking, this is a unhelpful and even damaging practice.  It’s not shown much with Jesse, but to dwell only on the negative and disparaging things people have said about us will cause us to doubt that we are capable of doing our job, or even of living well.  Everyone makes mistakes, don’t get me wrong.  There are times when criticism is absolutely merited and needed!  However, in a time when blacks often had to prove themselves to the rest of the world, Jesse glorifies and even deifies the discouraging comments of others and places them on the throne of his heart.  It is his motivation, his reason to push forward.  He loves his wife and daughter too, this much is obvious.  However, it is not their names that he chants to himself in the mirror every morning.  No, it’s the wicked and vile words of those who hated him that he beats himself with as he stares in the mirror, watching his own tears form and trickle down his face.

If you haven’t thought of it already, I have a few verses to share with you.  Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others more significant than yourselves.” As Believers, we are called to a radical life of laying down the self and taking on the cause of Christ and of love for others.

Jesse, though not shown in any light as a Christian, fails to embody both of these verses.  First, while he dwells on things that were indeed said by someone, they are not honorable, just, pure, lovely, or even true!  Dwelling on the sins of others against us (be they verbal or actual) will not promote within us anything good, admirable, or worthy of praise.  Second, by dwelling on what others have said against him only, Jesse forgets the equally human experience of his fellow pilots.  Sure, they’re white and probably haven’t had as many difficulties as he has had.  However, they have certainly experienced difficulties and trials, and have probably even been spoken against by superiors or comrades.  Black skin does not inflate difficulty, neither does white skin lessen it.  In this way, though he selflessly sacrifices himself at other times, he does not consider others to more significant than himself.

One other issue I had with Jesse was when he was disciplined for directly disobeying an order.  He received a letter notifying him of the consequences of his insubordination and he immediately drags Tom Hudner over the coals because of it.  Jesse received what he should have for directly disobeying one of Tom’s orders.  Tom did not report him for insubordination either, which frustrates me.  Tom appears to have merely submitted the mission report, while Jesse stops just short of accusing him of personal hatred or injustice.  Jesse made a bold and important move on the field of battle that contributed to the success of their mission; however, this is the military.  Insubordination results in consequences whether the immediate outcome is good or bad.

To watch or not to watch?

Jesse loves and cares for his wife and daughter.  They are a unified and encouraging example of the family unit.  Tom is an admirable friend and co-pilot who quietly becomes Jesse’s most important wingman.  I greatly appreciated the point that skin color does not make something more difficult, though the same circumstance may present varying degrees of difficulty for different people.

The story itself requires so much build up that I wondered if they mentioned the wrong war at first.  It seems more like a Cold War pic.  Actually, it seems more like a racial war pic!  Only towards the near end do we see Korea take the forefront and arrive at the crux of the film.  Ultimately, I wouldn’t watch this movie again.  It felt entirely too long.  While I enjoyed Tom Hudner and even Daisy (Jesse’s wife), I was frustrated by Jesse’s inconsistent manner in which he dealt with racism.  In a way, perhaps this is more true to life, none of us could deal perfectly with troubles after all.  Yet, the light in which his attitude, motivations, and responses are painted convinces me that we are to see his methods as legitimate and admirable.

Before I conclude, I have a few quick thoughts about the cinematography.  First of all, I don’t think this was filmed on location.  That’s not a hang up for me; however, some scenes did feel a little unreal.  I do not like being able to easily tell that something is CGI.  There’s plenty of movies I watch that involve a lot of CGI, including Lord of the Rings, but I don’t like to see much CGI in war movies.  The settings were also usually rather dark, with a few exceptions.  It was not so dark to the point of having a hard time making out surroundings and characters; however, it didn’t necessarily fit well with the sentiment the film was working to portray.  I’m no film expert, but the cinematography left a lot to be desired for me especially in light of the stunning filming that has been done in other movies such as 1917.

Until the next war pic, go watch a good movie (or stick with a book, they tend to be better).  🙂