Script Review: THE PATRIOT

by Stax

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Stax here with my review of the screenplay for Mel Gibson's forthcoming Revolutionary War epic, THE PATRIOT! This draft is dated October of 1998 and is written by Robert Rodat, an Academy Award nominee for SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Like that celebrated film, Rodat's new script also deals with the horrors of war that American soldiers have faced but this time during the War for Independence. The film commences principal photography in September under the direction of Roland Emmerich (GODZILLA, ID4) and will film at historical locations throughout South Carolina. The film, which purports to be "based on a true story," tells the tale of Colonel Francis Marion (Gibson), a rugged colonial militiaman whose guerrilla exploits against the Redcoats in the swamps of the Carolinas earned him the sobriquet of "The Swamp Fox." Marion's adventures served as the basis for the 1950's Disney television series SWAMP FOX, which starred stalwart Leslie Nielsen (that's right) as the crafty and elusive Marion.

THE PATRIOT is an engaging, visceral, and pleasing read but as a history lesson or as a biography of Francis Marion it is woefully inaccurate. Ironically enough, the Smithsonian Institute has agreed to serve as a technical advisor on this film, the first time it has ever agreed to act in such a capacity. I'm sure their suggestions will be of a great help to the art and costume departments, but I cannot see Emmerich allowing them much say in changes in characters or dialogue. Ain't It Cool News recently suggested that the script has been rewritten since Emmerich came onboard; apparently the violence has been "softened" and Francis Marion may have been renamed "Benjamin Martin." The violence in the script is an issue I will deal with later; as for the name change, I'm all for it. I was a huge fan of the TV series as a child when it ran on the Disney Channel. I still remember the lyrics to its dorky, chirpy theme song: "Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat/Nobody knows where the Swamp Fox at/Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, hiding in the glen/He'll run away to fight again." Nevertheless, this series prompted me to read up on the real Francis Marion and learn the facts which the TV show naturally overlooked. In fact, my interest in Marion grew so passionate that I once wanted to write a spec script biography about him. I lost interest in that project after doing further research on Marion and coming to the painful conclusion that none of his biographers knew anything about the real man. They could give you the facts and dates of his life and career but no one really understood what made this guy tick.

Rodat overcomes this obstacle by disregarding history altogether and inventing a Francis Marion who bears little resemblance to the historical figure. Now, there is creative license when you write a film biography and then there is distortion; you can blur history but you should not erase it or mangle it. It is a disservice both to the audience and to those whose life stories you are now exploiting. Some screenwriters would not agree with this and would advocate just making it all up but I am not one of them. Hollywood is in the business of communicating myths, yes, but it has done enough to warp the American public's sense of its own history and thus should be more strenuous now in making sure that they are faithful to the facts. It is one thing when you are dealing with outlaws and bad men like the James Gang or Billy the Kid, but by warping the lives of national heroes you only make people react more strongly against them once they learn their history. Witness all those nasty "revisionist works" that sprang up once modern historians refuted the myths about our founding fathers and frontier heroes fostered by Hollywood. Hopefully, Emmerich and Rodat have now renamed Marion's character and further debate on the script's historical veracity can be left to Sander Vanocour on the History Channel.

The real Francis Marion was an unmarried, childless "Indian fighter" who owned slaves and served in the South Carolina legislature when not tending to his farm. Although born and bred in the South, Marion was proud of his French Huguenot heritage. This shared religious and ethnic heritage formed the bond between Marion and his neighbors, and is what made their ancestors come to the colonies in the first place. Many of the soldiers in "Marion's Brigade" were also Huguenots, but some were native Irishmen; the only man of color that I recall being with them was Marion's slave, Oscar, who cooked for the soldiers and maintained their camp on Snow's Island when they were off fighting. Marion's wartime exploits would today categorize him as a terrorist: attacking Loyalists' homes, ambushing enemy troops, hit-and-run attacks and the like. The loss of his beloved nephew Gabriel during the war fueled Marion's latter campaigns against the British. After the war, Marion wed his cousin, Mary Videaux. They had no children. Marion returned to the state legislature and passed away in 1795. That is what we know.

This script's Marion doesn't own slaves; no, he has "African-American family servants"! Please, the man owned other human beings and, if he had lived until the Civil War, he probably would have been a Confederate. This Marion is also a widower with seven children who ends up falling for his fictional sister-in-law, Charlotte, and having an eighth kid with her by the film's end (no Southern cousins-marrying jokes to be found here, unfortunately!). Gabriel (Heath Ledger) is now Marion's eldest son with whom he has a strained relationship; this relationship is, appropriately, the heart of the story. Gabriel is still a tragic figure but for slightly different reasons now. Marion remains the thorn in the side of Lord Cornwallis, the British general in charge of the Redcoats' Southern campaign, and the foe of Colonel Banastre "The Butcher" Tarleton, leader of the elite and vicious Green Dragoons. I don't recall Marion fighting at the battle of Yorktown, perhaps he did, but he does so here and hence plays an important role in the Americans' final victory over the British. Marion ambushes the Redcoats with his ragtag band of simple volunteers and manages to stall the British advance northward long enough for Washington to fight his way south to Yorktown -- and complete victory.


Marion's Brigade now includes a black soldier and an imposing Cherokee Indian (exactly the kind of Native American the real Marion helped kill during the earlier French and Indian War!). Rodat overcomes the politically incorrect speech patterns these characters would have had by essentially making them mute. By including them, he fulfills the studio's demands for a more demographically appropriate and diverse team of heroes (a criticism leveled at Spielberg and his all-white SAVING PRIVATE RYAN). There's PC, and then there's pandering. Most of these Southern colonials, like the untouchable Washington, owned slaves and neglected to think of their freedom while wrapping themselves in the cloak of idealism. This script engages in political correctness at the expense of painful, historical truth. Surely, people of color played roles in the Revolution but let's not also forget that the Founding Fathers were so divided by the issue of slavery that they left it unresolved when drafting the Declaration of Independence and thus sowed the seeds of the Civil War. (To his credit, Rodat does make a brief reference to this at the story's end: Marion congratulates his compatriot "Lighthorse Harry" Lee on the birth of his son, Robert E. Lee. Harry hopes this war has bought his son some peace but we know Robert grows up to become the Confederacy's greatest general. Unfortunately, Rodat has Robert E. Lee born almost a quarter of a century too early, making him in his eighties during the Civil War!) And nobody back then really gave a damn about the Indians, especially the Cherokee -- The Trail of Tears, anyone? Otherwise, the history of America's westward expansion would read much, much differently. Look, I am not trying to have this review degenerate into a debate on slavery or on the darker chapters of American history. I just feel that this script takes too many liberties with the real Marion to not have these types of legitimate issues raised. If the filmmakers have renamed him Benjamin Martin and have excised the "Swamp Fox" sobriquet, then that should essentially nullify these problems. Then history takes a back seat to entertainment. As a movie, this script owes a whole lot more to UNFORGIVEN and to BRAVEHEART than it does to its small-screen predecessor or to the historical record. THE PATRIOT is a revenge story, pure and simple. Marion is not driven by idealism, "the cause," or by any of that stuff they taught you in school. No, Marion's out to get the British bastard who murdered his kid and if it means crippling the Redcoat army in order to accomplish it, then so be it. This tragedy spurs a change in Marion's nature that reminded me of Eastwood's Will Munny character in UNFORGIVEN. Marion's now-deceased wife had essentially cured him of drink and wickedness, and had made him turn away from his violent past. As the sole support for seven youngsters, Marion cannot afford to fight the British, least of all for intangible, lofty ideals like "no taxation without representation." It is not that he is unpatriotic; Marion just has his priorities. But when Tarleton and his dragoons sweep down on his home and kill one of his sons, Marion straps the old guns back on and is out to kick lots of Tory ass! THE PATRIOT is very much like a western: a gunfighter past his prime, prompted by revenge, puts his old gang back together for one last ride against the bad-asses who crossed him and burned down his cabin. The character of Marion is obviously tailored for Mel Gibson, what with the seven kids and all. Marion's terse and crafty demeanor should recall Mel's more intense, layered performances before the LETHAL WEAPON franchise gradually transformed him into a light comedian who infrequently kicks tail. Whether or not this element, too, has been "softened" since Emmerich became director remains to be seen. Those who have read about the re-sculpting of PAYBACK, another Gibson revenge film, knows Mel wanted his character made more likable and less cruel to ensure better box office results. To take that edge away from this character, however, would be to emasculate him entirely. NOTE TO ROLAND EMMERICH: eliminate the historical inaccuracies by renaming the character but don't destroy the engine that moves this story along!

Mr. Rodat's screenplay showcases the brutality of the Revolution much the same way GLORY looked at the Civil War and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN depicted World War II. Like the latter film, Rodat utilizes a formulaic plot and stock war movie characters but manages to elevate the tale to a more poetic level. His ideas may not exactly be fresh but his writing is evocative, crisp, and lingers in your mind long after you have read it. The dialogue is effective and colorful. I especially liked the tense, competitive relationship between Cornwallis and Tarleton. Rodat even finds moments of levity amidst all the sorrow. But Mr. Rodat also makes some foolish mistakes that even a relatively new kid on the screenwriting block like myself wouldn't make. One Redcoat officer named Halbert alternates throughout the script between being a colonel and a major; it's an amateurish mistake that shouldn't be found in the work of an Oscar-nominated screenwriter! I have noticed dumb goofs like these in all the scripts I have reviewed on my web site, leading me to the unsettling conclusion that once screenwriters start getting paid for their work they absolve from proofreading. For the amount of money they do get paid, and the good fortune that they have been shown, the least these writers could do is not turn their stuff in with glaring mistakes that would cause an aspiring scribe to be rebuked.

As for the script's much talked about level of violence? Well, there is certainly nothing in it that rivals those first twenty-seven minutes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. The violence is more erratic and mano a mano, as in Mann's LAST OF THE MOHICANS. The Battle of Yorktown will undoubtedly be the biggest action set piece of the movie. The use of fog and gunsmoke should prove quite frightening on film; it is just as effective on the page. This is a violent tale but I have the feeling that its depictions may be augmenting what the violence of those times was actually like. In a cliched portrayal, the British are just evil bastards who kill entire villages of people by pad-locking them in churches and burning them to the ground. The Green Dragoons torture and kill women, children, and the elderly. Now, Banastre Tarleton obviously did some nasty things to deserve being called "The Butcher," but in all my reading on the Revolution I have not come across any indications of any Mai Lai massacre-like atrocities committed by the British during the war. Even the Boston Massacre has more of a story behind it. Rodat ignores many of the philosophic and economic reasons for why the Founding Fathers rebelled against King George in favor of the more visceral and understandable acts of despotism - even if the historical record cannot quite support these charges. As the script has already engaged in political correctness by eliminating Marion's slave-holding and by including minorities in the ranks of his team, then I should not be surprised that he makes full use of one of the last ethnic groups left who are ripe for demonization. Hey, I'm glad I don't live under British rule (my Irish forebears fought against them alongside Michael Collins) but I also recognize easy villains when I see them. I would have appreciated some more depth to these British characters. Certainly, Cornwallis is a fascinating figure who could be explored much more fully than he is here.

All in all, THE PATRIOT's ignorance of historical fact is offset by its energy, visceral imagery, and gripping main character. But it ultimately made me aware of a certain cynicism in Mr. Rodat's agenda. He capitalizes on the general public's utter lack of interest and knowledge of American History by regurgitating a tried and true Western formula complete with revenge theme, and the undeniably sympathetic plight of the parent of a murdered child. We all know who is going to win the war anyway so the suspense is generated by our involvement with the hero's'personal quest: will he cap the fucker who iced his boy or not? And will he buy it in doing so? On that basic level, THE PATRIOT delivers the goods in a most thrilling fashion. By avoiding the larger philosophic context of the American Revolution and centering solely on one man's thirst for vengeance, however, the story's title seems both inappropriate and manipulative. There is nothing about this story's Francis Marion that makes him driven by ideals or patriotism. Revenge is a far more universal motive, I suppose. To (badly) paraphrase the ad for PATRIOT GAMES, this battle isn't for country or honor or ideals - it's personal, baby. So that means THE PATRIOT will probably make about $40 million dollars more than if it didn't have that element in it!

The film could fail if its director is someone whose forte is not character-driven films but big, splashy spectacles - oh, yeah. The very worst moments in any Roland Emmerich film are the ones where the actors actually have to talk to each other. There were definitely some awkward, corny moments in STARGATE. Those scenes between Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch, or with Goldblum and Margaret Colin, in ID4 still make me wince. And who could ever forget the heart-stirring dialogues between sleepy-headed Matthew Broderick and the abysmal Maria Pitillo in GODZILLA? Gosh, didn't you just root for those two to make it as a couple? See what I mean? Emmerich seduces you with eye candy and then makes your stomach turn when he actually has to let the characters stop and get to know each other. True, those films were scripted by Dean Devlin and this one is not. And, like Kurt Russell, Will Smith, or Hank Azaria before him, I'm sure Mel Gibson will have his cheese meter set on high to filter out any corny directions he may receive from Emmerich. In fact, I hope Gibson informally directs the actors and leaves Emmerich to organize the battle scenes and vista shots. Otherwise, I fear Emmerich may transform this tragic, poetic drama into a silly comic book adventure: DELTA FORCE with tri-corner hats. In closing, I sincerely hope the filmmakers have indeed changed the lead character's name to satisfy those history buffs out there like me ready to point out this story's numerous inaccuracies. I also hope that the filmmakers don't lose sight of the fact that they are making a father-son drama set against the backdrop of a war, and not an adventure spectacle with a dramatic subplot slapped onto it. If I want that, I will stay at home and watch the old SWAMP FOX series on TV for free. Then again, some other kid out there may watch THE PATRIOT and be inspired to do what I did: read about the real Francis Marion. Oh, who am I kidding? They'll head to the arcade instead! - STAX.

After my review of THE PATRIOT was posted a few weeks ago, I was contacted by Centropolis (the production company making the film) and by producer Dean Devlin with their concerns about my review and with new information regarding the project. These updates directly address my concerns about the story's historical accuracy and presentation of Francis Marion. Mr. Devlin advised me that Mel Gibson's character is no longer named Francis Marion; this was among the first changes made to Mr. Rodat's script when Devlin and Emmerich came aboard the project. A new press release advises that Gibson's character is now Benjamin Martin and that Jason Isaacs will no longer be playing Col. Banastre Tarleton but rather Col. William Tavington (still the leader of the Green Dragoons). Also, Chris Cooper (LONE STAR) has now joined the cast. Mr. Devlin and a Centropolis executive both advised me that THE PATRIOT will in no way be a biography of Francis Marion a.k.a. The Swamp Fox, and instead will be a complete work of fiction. With these historical inaccuracies rectified, my biggest grievances with THE PATRIOT have been eliminated. Now I can just sit back and enjoy the exciting tale that Robert Rodat has scripted. Thanks to Centropolis and to Dean Devlin for the time and effort they took to convey these messages to me! - STAX