As America celebrated its 250th birthday, it made sense that we got a movie about the country’s preeminent Founding Father and the eventual first President of the United States. Of course I’m talking about George Washington, and the simply titled movie is “Young Washington”. It comes from director Jon Erwin, whose last film was the surprising “Jesus Revolution”. His latest tells a vastly different yet equally unexpected story that is accessible to those with or without a history degree.
Rather than being an overly exhaustive (and by extension overly long) cradle-to-grave biopic, “Young Washington” sets out to cover a specific segment of Washington’s life . It’s a choice that ends up benefiting the movie, even though you may find yourself wishing you had gotten more. That’s because Erwin pulls the plug before there’s even a whiff of looming revolution. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the move. But it does feel like the credits start to roll just as things are heating up.
William Franklyn-Miller ably plays the young and ambitious George Washington. Following the death of his father in 1743, a frustrated 11-year-old George (played briefly by Will Joseph) is forced to work on their King George County, Virginia farm rather than attend school. He ends up being tutored by his older half-brother Lawrence (John Foss) who also trains him in land surveying. It’s a skill that will serve George in ways he doesn’t expect.
Ten years later, a determined George heads to Williamsburg in hopes of becoming a commissioned British officer despite the objections of his disapproving mother, Mary (Mary-Louise Parker). But he is promptly denied due to colonial status. But with Lawrence’s help, he is able to join the Virgina Militia. And after cunningly charming the wealthy and powerful Lord Thomas Fairfax (Kelsey Grammer), George wins an audience with Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie (Ben Kingsley), a British officer who can barely conceal his contempt for colonials or his Virginia post.
Dinwiddie reluctantly assigns George the task of surveying the Ohio Territories. With the help of his surly old friend Christopher (Leo Hanna), George maps out the beautiful unexplored land, has a tense yet diplomatic encounter with an indigenous Seneca leader Tanacharison (played with solemn intensity by Ryan Begay), and discovers the French have built a fort on land claimed by the Crown. After sharing the news with Dinwiddle, George is given the unenviable mission of warning and (if necessary) forcing the French off the land.
All of those details do a good job introducing characters and defining their place in George Washington’s story. But they mostly serve as a setup for the film’s stronger second half which includes George’s costly defeat at Fort Necessity, his fragile partnership with the French-hating indigenous tribes, and battles waged against everything from a raging ice-cold river to a severe case of dysentery. We also see his time under the command of General Edward Braddock (a growling Andy Serkis), which culminates in a fierce finish that sees George becoming the leader who would soon guide a new nation.
The script (co-written by Erwin, Tom Provost, and Diederik Hoogstraten) devotes itself equally to being a coming-of-age story, a historical drama, and a military action movie. The combat sequences are especially well shot, and they often play out with an edge-of-your-seat intensity. And they’re helped by Erwin’s choice to shoot on location. He and DP Kristopher Kimlin make great use of the natural environments, not only to create gorgeous scenery, but to fully immerse us in what we’re seeing.
Yet there are moments that don’t quite feel authentic. And there are characters with story threads that could use more attention. The most notable is George’s budding yet underserviced relationship with the spirited Sally Fairfax (Mia Rodgers). I also wish we had more of George wrestling with his mother’s firm belief that he is protected by providence. It’s an angle that does finally get some meaningful time near the end. But it feels as if there is more to it that is left unexplored.
As mentioned, “Young Washington” mashes the brakes just as we see George ascend to being an inspiring leader. By focusing on his military origins amid the French and Indian War, we never get to see his part in standing up against the Crown. But the film does highlight England’s disrespect for the colonists. It also shows how Washington’s ambition, fortitude, and courage made him into the man who would guide a young nation towards independence. The solid performances, impressive craftsmanship, and good storytelling ensure that this dramatically compelling period piece does its namesake justice.
VERDICT – 3.5 STARS
