Devotion (Dillard, 2022)
Devotion is an engaging movie that gives viewers a glimpse into the sensational evolution of American aviation through the eyes of an unlikely hero.
The film is an adaptation of a bestselling book of the same name that chronicles the friendship between Ensign Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) and Lieutenant Tom Hudner (Glen Powell). Brown, the son of a sharecropper, is a United States Navy officer and the first African American aviator to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program. Hudner, a white man from a prestigious family in Massachusetts, is his wingman and squadron leader. Both the film and the book do a great job of showing how two people from dichotomous backgrounds can achieve professional respect for one another and develop an earnest friendship through mutual endeavors.
The film’s director, J.D. Dillard brings the necessary perspective, as a self-proclaimed “Navy brat,” to make such a remarkable thing happen onscreen. His father, LT Bruce Dillard, was a Naval flight officer and the second African American ever selected to fly with the Blue Angels. That familiarity with naval aviation and its lifestyle shines throughout the entirety of the film. The aircraft utilized in every shot shimmer with authenticity. The Vought F4U Corsairs that soar across the screen look like they’ve come straight off of a Detroit assembly line. The precise choreography and immersive camera angles of the project’s dogfights reveal so much attention to detail. And as a former army aviator, I found it impressive to see the film’s characters pouring over operator’s manuals to become intimately familiar with every aspect of their new aircraft just like pilots do in real life.
And Dillard’s commitment to paying homage to a real-life story shrouded in racism without letting it overtake those aspects of the story is really the best part of the project. The War and Navy Departments, now collectively known as the Department of Defense, have a well-documented and sordid history when it comes to utilizing black talent in combat. Movies like Glory (1989) and The 24th (2020) provide examples of that flagrant mismanagement of talent but offer a perspective that can be a little too heavy-handed for some viewers to fully appreciate their message. Dillard presents a similar story, but he makes it more broadly accessible and digestible by not being so heavy-handed.
This is mostly accomplished through the performance of Jonathan Majors. The grace and resiliency that Majors colors Jesse Brown with deserves unfettered praise. It’s an ironic performance because the film makes it clear that Jesse Brown would not want that praise. For him, the opportunity to just do the job and fulfill a personal dream is enough and that attitude pops off of the screen throughout the film. Devotion chooses to focus on the most positive aspects of Brown’s life and personality instead of dwelling on his challenges and personal demons.
Glen Powell’s performance as Tom Hudner really accentuates that decision. There are times when Powell’s character comes across as an unwelcomed “white savior.” There are times when Hudner unintentionally serves as an obstacle to Brown’s greatness. Brown is just looking for an ally that allows him to be the best version of himself, Hudner! It’s a bit ironic that the one guy trying to earnestly be Brown’s ally actually makes his life harder, at times. This discord is the foundation of their friendship and seeing them struggle through it is profound. It’s profound because it shows how much effort must go into being a good friend. Watching Powell and Majors figure out the appropriate dynamic to make this, at the time, unusual relationship work is an eye-opening experience.
Their struggle had me walking away from this film and being reminded that race is a challenging thing to address in America. There are specters of pain, embarrassment, and unresolved conflicts that loom over our society because of it. I initially, chastised the movie for not taking a deeper dive into those issues a la a movie like Glory. I personally feel like everyone needs to experience the raw emotion of watching Denzel Washington shed that tear and try to understand why he’s crying. But movies like Glory can be that heavy-handed because they are exploring a macrocosm that can withstand a heavy hand. Movies like Devotion are exploring a microcosm that might shatter under the force of such a heavy hand. Watch Devotion and enjoy its delicate nuance.
Devotion is currently playing at Filmfest919 in Chapel Hill. It opens nationwide on November 23.
