Review of ‘Devotion. A story of heroes’

In his fourth feature as a director, JD Dillard brings to the screen a true event little known not only in our environment, but also within the American army: the life of Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American pilot in the United States Army. and also the first officer killed in action during the Korean War. For that, he uses a script signed by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart, based on a biography of Brown written by Adam Makos, which faithfully follows the unofficial decalogue of the biopic to use: a portrait marked by respect –devotion, winking at the title– to an exemplary life that, however, would have done well with a greater charge of emotion.

More interested in showing the relationship established by Brown –a dedicated Jonathan Majors, who gives his role a point of gravity and transcendence that is only occasionally broken– and his flight companion Tom Hudner –played by Glen Powell, producer and responsible for the film to go ahead, which offers us a character in the antipodes of the pilot that he recently incarnated in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’: all that there was bravado and throw here is determination and containment– ‘Devotion. A story of heroes’ it focuses on camaraderie, the fraternity that arises in the field –or skies– of battle– and the heroism of friendship. It is there where he puts his entire arsenal, starting from the necessary component of social and racial denunciation and entrusting everything to the caliber of his two stars., who could have used a little more support: Brown’s family life, as well as his self-conscious effort to fly under the radar and, rather than become an air idol, break ground, fall short to round out characters. His wife –a hard-working Christina Jackson, who does what she can with the material at her disposal–, daughter or even the squadmates –among them, Joe Jonas!– are little more than footnotes but, directly, script resources with no other objective than to plant obstacles and plot alibis or serve the moral of the tape on a platter.

Everything goes ahead thanks to the strength of the true story, punctuated by few well-planned and directed flight and air combat scenes –especially the spectacular sequence shot when Brown is shot down in enemy skies– which are a curious historical counterpoint to a fight with little treated in the cinema and that will hook fans of the war genre. Or even film buff winks that define an era, such as Brown’s aircraft carrier stopover in Cannes and the night out, where his friendship with Hudner has just been forged, in which Elizabeth Taylor, ahead of her time, plays an unexpected role. In short, ‘Devotion. A story of heroes’ is a textbook biopic, without surprises or big disappointments, taking flight propelled by Brown’s real-life drive but not exceeding Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell’s Mach 10.

For hooked on the force of real lives and little known feats of warfare

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DATA SHEET

Address: JD Dillard. Distribution: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christine Jackson, Joe Jones, Joseph Cross, Serinda Swan. Country: USA. Year: 2022. Release date: 28-1-2023. Genre: War. Duration: 139 min.

Synopsis: In 1950, during a tense time in the Cold War, two very different young pilots are accepted into an elite squadron. On one side we have the talented Tom Hudner, on the other a Jesse Brown who would become the first African American to fly in combat for the United States Navy. Tom and Jesse are pushed to the limit to become the best fighter pilots. Within the squad, the two form a strong friendship that will be put to the test on the heated battlefield when one of them is shot down behind enemy lines.