BREAKER MORANT Movie Review
1980 Bruce Beresford
Few plays make the transition from stage to screen as fluidly as Kenneth Ross's courtroom drama. Though its subject is an incident in England's Boer War in South Africa, the film is really about war as it has evolved in the 20th century, where the lines between combatant and non-combatant have become so blurred as to be meaningless. They're meaningless to the soldier who's supposed to identify and defeat the enemy, but can they be meaningless to his superiors?
In Pietersburg, Transvaal, South Africa, 1901, the British and their Australian troops are involved in a war against Dutch immigrants, the Boers. It's a guerrilla war, with small groups of Boers staging hit-and-run attacks. (The word commando was originally applied to units of Boer militia and raiding parties.) Lt. Harry “Breaker” Morant (Edward Woodward) of the Bushfeld Carbiniers and his men are sent out after an ambush kills his friend, Capt. Hunt (Terence Donovan). Morant does find the men responsible and he executes them, but exactly why were they killed, and by which orders? And how did a German missionary come to die at the same time?
Morant, Lt. Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown), and Lt. George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Ger-ald) are accused of murder and brought before a court martial. Prosecuting is Maj. Bolton (Rod Mullinar). Their attorney is another Aussie, Maj. J.F. Thomas (Jack Thompson), who argues that the men were following direct instructions from the highest levels of the British command. “New orders from Kitchener,” Hunt had told Morant, “Col. Hamilton's confirmed it to me himself. No prisoners. The gentleman's war is over.” Another officer says, “This is a guerrilla war, not a debutante's ball. There are no rules here.” But the British also want to placate the Germans to keep them from entering the war on the Dutch side.
Within the framework of the trial, director and co-writer Bruce Beresford flashes back to the events that take place out in the field. Those revelations are deftly layered, changing subtly with each new fact and added nuance. Even though the filmmakers are clearly on the side of the accused men, they never let the story become pure anti-British propaganda. They're interested in degrees of complicity, not pure guilt and innocence. No single individual or group emerges completely untainted. Visually, Beresford emphasizes the contrasts between the softly rolling hills of the Transvaal (actually Australia) and the measured confinement of courtroom and stockade cell. The film seems to have been made almost entirely on location, in real rooms with echoing hard floors and stone walls. That gives it an unusually authentic atmosphere. Accurate or not, it feels right.
So do the performances. Woodward's tightly controlled bearing and stiff-legged walk are perfect for a professional soldier who's got a bit of Kipling in his heart. Brown's amiable manner plays well against him, and the two have one perfect moment toward the end. It's a simple gesture that's beautifully touching and unexpected. The whole film builds to that moment, and the conclusion falls away from it.
When Breaker Morant was released in 1980, its immediate connections to Vietnam were perhaps too apparent. Today, the film stands on its own as a clear-eyed examination of the difficult moral questions posed by war. In its refusal to accept easy answers, it remains relevant, compelling, and not at all dated.
Cast: Edward Woodward (Lt. Harry “Breaker” Morant), Jack Thompson (Maj. J.F. Thomas), John Waters (Capt. Alfred Taylor), Bryan Brown (Lt. Peter Handcock), Charles Tingwell (Lt. Col. Denny), Terence Donovan (Capt. Simon Hart), Vincent Ball (Col. Ian Hamilton), Ray Meagher (Sgt. Maj. Drummond), Chris Haywood (Cpl. Sharp), Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Lt. George Witton), Rod Mullinar (Maj. Charles Bolton), Alan Cassell (Lord Kitchener), Rob Steele (Capt. Robertson); Written by: Bruce Beresford, Jonathon Hardy, David Stevens; Cinematography by: Donald McAlpine; Music by: Phil Cunneen; Technical Advisor: Stan Green. Producer: Matt Carroll, South Australian Film Corporation. Australian Awards: Australian Film Institute '80: Best Actor (Thompson), Best Film; Nominations: Academy Awards '80: Best Adapted Screenplay. MPAA Rating: PG. Running Time: 107 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, 8mm.