Mention the name George Washington and a stark, consistent image comes to mind.
Old. Regal. Consequential.
Fatherly.
The nation’s first president was all of those things, but how did he get to that vital place in history? What was he like as a younger man, someone who didn’t have all the answers but knew the society he wanted to inhabit?
“Young Washington” fills in some of those blanks in profound, stirring fashion. This rousing biopic, brimming with smart dialogue and kinetic battles, is the film we needed right now.
Happy Birthday, America!
An impressive William Franklyn-Miller stars as George Washington, a man with immense ambition but few family connections. He dreams of rising up the ranks in the British military and proving his mettle, and he understands he’ll have to face immense danger to do so.
His arrogance is nearly as large as his professional appetites.
He convinces a curious Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie (Ben Kingsley, as solid as ever) to make him a “Major,” and send him on a mission to stop the French from usurping the King’s territory. It’s a foolhardly quest, one seemingly doomed to fail.
That won’t stop George, nor will his lack of experience and unchecked hubris. He soon learns the realities of life, war and death, and along the way, the germ of greatness starts to grow.
“Young Washington” leans on familiar faces to flesh out the cast – Kelsey Grammer, Mary Louise-Parker, Andy Serkis and Kingsley rush to mind – but the rest of the ensemble more than holds its own.
That’s especially true of the film’s lead performance.
Franklyn-Miller is stellar from start to finish, willing to show George’s flaws as well as his potential for greatness. We know the latter is inevitable, but it’s the journey that makes the story so engaging.
A sweet subplot finds George attempting to woo a socialite (Mia Rodgers), eager to prove he’s worthy of her love. Not so fast. The era’s culture didn’t look kindly on someone like George shmoozing above his station.
That courtship, and inevitable heartbreak, is one of the film’s many pleasures.
“Young Washington” could have stitched together historical cliches to show the title character’s growth. Some lines of dialogue land a little too hard, but screenwriters Jon Erwin, Tom Provost and Diederik Hoogstraten otherwise defy expectations and deliver something profound.
Their lines evoke the birth of a noble experiment, the vision George had for himself first, and later the colonies. At times, the lines are flat-out beautiful, propelling the story forward without feeling like a Sunday school sermon.
“Young Washington” is also a war movie.
The story brims with battle sequences, the kind you expect from a large-scale studio. Angel Studios may be young, but its creative growth is nothing less than stunning.
The hand-to-hand combat, as well as the more traditional gun battles, pop with clarity and vigor. There’s nothing to indicate a diminished budget or second-tier experience. This is the vision of a young George Washington the legend deserved.
The smaller sequences connect as well as the epic-sized moments. Think George’s mother (Louise-Parker) gently steering her adult son toward a better path after a series of missteps that cost the lives of his friends.
Or a humane Grammer, embodying the period’s aristocracy, looking past George’s modest station to see something special.
“Young Washington” would be a welcome arrival at any time or date. Debuting on the nation’s 250th birthday is almost too perfect.
HiT or Miss: “Young Washington” is every bit the biopic the nation’s Father deserves.
But does he chop down a cherry tree?