Year Released: 2000
Directed by; Roland Emmerich
Starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richarson, Chris Cooper, Jason Isaacs
(R, 158 min.)
Genre: War, Action, History, Drama

“I have long feared… that my sins would return to visit me. And the cost is more than I can bear.” Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson)

No dry history here. The Revolutionary War in all its blood, brutality, and bravery flies off the pages and into our hearts in one of Mel Gibson’s most heartfelt performances as a reluctant Revolutionary militia leader drawn into the conflict almost against his will.

It is to protect his family of 7 children that the widower Benjamin Martin first disdains the combat that has already drawn several colonies into the war with Britain. (Many critics have said that Gibson’s ties to his own large family help him bring a special authenticity to this role.)

“I have seven children. My wife is dead. Now, who’s to care for them if I go to war?”

Nor does the South Carolina colonist value the Revolutionary cause at the outset, even though the Northern colonies have been at war for 2 years. And Benjamin Martin states his views with acerbic wit:

Mr. Howard: We are citizens of an American nation! And our rights are being threatened by a tyrant three thousand miles away!

Benjamin Martin: Would you tell me please, Mr. Howard, why should I trade one tyrant three thousand miles away for three thousand tyrants one mile away? An elected legislature can trample a man's rights as easily as a king can.

***

Against his wishes, Benjamin’s eldest Gabriel (Heath Ledger) joins the Continental Army, and two years later when he shows up at home wounded, the war is no longer a distant battle that Benjamin can ignore. Especially when Colonel William Tavington (Jason Isaacs), leader of the British Dragoons, comes upon the scene. Nicknamed “The Butcher” this “charismatic sociopath and brutal commander” changes everything.

Benjamin has been caring for soldiers from both sides wounded at the Siege of Charleston. Tavington arrives, falsely calls out Gabriel as a spy, orders all the wounded Americans to be shot, and kills Gabriels’ younger brother Thomas as he attempts to free him. And then he gloats over the murder of the young man.

“You know, it’s an ugly business doing one’s duty…but just occasionally it’s a real pleasure.”

For Benjamin, now going to war and not avoiding it becomes his duty as a father.

He goes to a locked trunk and carefully takes out his old weapons from the two decades ago French and Indian War – a musket and a large Tomahawk among them, remnants of a violent past he has willed himself to forget,

From then on Benjamin Martin proves himself a stealthy and efficient killer. We see this as he takes his younger sons to rescue Gabriel, on his way to be hanged. Hiding in the woods they know so well, they pick off the officers first while their father fires shot after shot from different locations to create the effect of a small army attack.

Then Benjamin goes in for the kill, ruthless in this close combat, hacking one soldier long after he is dead.

Soon he is a commander of a militia, a rag tag band of farmers, but under his command, and using his unorthodox techniques, they begin to win, with Benjamin earning the nickname, The Ghost, for his stealth and surprise. And Benjamin Martin is clever, too.

He admires the British Commander General Cornwallis:

I've just read into the mind of a genius. Cornwallis knows more about war then any of us could ever hope to learn in a dozen lifetimes. His victories at Camden and Charleston were perfect, perfect. The thing is, he knows that... and perhaps that's his weakness.

Benjamin and his men waylay a caravan bringing Corwallis’s belongings – his fancy uniforms and his two beloved Great Danes. Then he returns them to Cornwallis and negotiates:

Lieutenant General Cornwallis: Now we come to the matter of specific targeting of officers during engagements. You must know that in civilized warfare, officers in the field must not be accorded inappropriate levels of hostile attention.

Benjamin Martin: To your opinion, what are appropriate levels of hostile attention?

Lieutenant General Cornwallis: Colonel, imagine the utter chaos that would follow from leaderless armies having at each other. There must be gentlemen to command, lead, and- and, where necessary, restrain their men.

Benjamin Martin: Restrain them from, say, targeting civilians. Women, children and such.

Lieutenant General Cornwallis: That's a separate issue.

Benjamin Martin: No, no. I consider them linked. And as long as your soldiers attack civilians, I will order the shooting of officers at every engagement. And my men are excellent marksmen.

Not only does our patriot get his own prisoners released, but the two Great Danes, now loyal to him, heed his crisp whistle and abandon Cornwallis for their new leader as he leaves the negotiation.

Maybe, though, The Ghost has been a bit too clever, for now Benjamin has earned the undying hatred of the British leader, who gives Tavington, The Butcher, a free hand with The Ghost and his men.

And it gets even more ugly from then on. Tavington does everything he can to break the will of his adversary, going after those he loves. In particular one cannot forget the church burning with innocent men, women, and children locked inside and burned alive.

Some dispute this action, and yes, we realize this is not a documentary, but historical fiction. Mel Gibson’s character is indeed a synthesis of at least 5 different figures, and historians say there were atrocities on both sides.

Perhaps that and the film’s title itself rankle some critics, especially those across the pond. Here is a sampling of some of the condescending outrage, the first from The New York Times and the second from Britain’s The Guardian:

Elvis Mitchell labeles The Patriot “a gruesome hybrid, a mix of sentimentality and brutality that suggests a Lethal Weapon movie directed by Norman Rockwell.”

Then a very left-handed compliment from him as well:

“The Patriot is shamelessly stirring, brandishing Mr. Gibson's anguished masculinity like a musket. –Elvis Mitchell

The headline in The Guardian is more blunt: The Patriot: More Flag-Waving Rot with Mel Gibson

But different Drummer does not see it that way. True patriotism and courage are to be lauded. They never go out of style, even in our jaundiced age. Long may they live, and long may we Americans, seeing the courage it took these Revolutionaries to achieve our freedom, never let it die. Never.

Not to miss and worth a second view, especially now.

–Kathy Borich
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

After their house has been burned to the ground, Benjamin Martin’s family takes refuge with African slaves and freed slaves in the South Carolina’s low country. Part of the largest saltwater marsh in the world, it is teaming with fish and shellfish. Our delectable Low Country Boil features delicious shrimp as well as spicy sausage, onions, new potatoes, and fresh corn.

Now eaten by everyone seemingly everywhere — at restaurants by hordes of visiting tourists, believers at church dinners, patrons of school fundraisers, and families, both black and white, at annual get-togethers — a Low Country boil is the perfect relaxed summer meal for a crowd. At home or at these larger functions, it is traditionally prepared in a big pot on an outdoor gas cooker. It usually contains sausage, shrimp, sometimes blue or stone crab, potatoes and corn for an all-in-one-pot, all-you-can-eat buffet traditionally served outside on tables lined with newspapers. –Virginia Willis

Here Ms. Willis adapts with a “slightly scaled down version bringing the party indoors for every night cooking.”

A great way to bring summer inside as the days darken into fall. Enjoy.

Stovetop Low Country Boil

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce can) beer, such as a pale ale or summer wheat
2 sweet onions, quartered
4 lemons, quartered
1/2 cup seafood boil seasoning
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, plus additional ground pepper for seasoning
Coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 finely chopped fresh red chile (or chiles, to taste)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
3 pounds new potatoes, each about the size of golf balls
1 1/2 pounds smoked spicy sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, each cut into 6 pieces
6 ears fresh corn, shucked and broken into 3- to 4-inch pieces
3 pounds shell-on large shrimp
Hot sauce, for serving

Directions
Fill a large pot with 5 quarts of water. (Add more if needed; the volume will depend on the size and shape of your pot.) Add the beer, onions, two of the lemons, seafood boil, bay leaves, peppercorns and 2 tablespoons salt. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a lazy simmer and let cook until the flavors marry, about 15 minutes. The liquid should be highly seasoned and aromatic.

Meanwhile, prepare the garlic sauce: Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Let simmer until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Once the cooking broth is flavorful, add the potatoes and cook, covered, until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage and corn, and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, about 3 minutes. Drain through a large colander.

Transfer the shrimp, sausage and vegetables to a large platter or tray. Serve immediately with hot sauce, remaining lemon quarters, and the warm garlic butter sauce.

Southern Kitchen.com