Review: Breaker Morant (1980)

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Breaker Morant

Rating

Director

Bruce Beresford

Screenplay

Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, Bruce Beresford, Harold Lander (Play: Kenneth Ross)

Length

1h 47m

Starring

Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown, Charles Tingwell, Terence Donovan, Vincent Ball, Ray Meagher, Chris Haywood, Russell Kiefel, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Rod Mullinar, Alan Cassell, Rob Steele, Chris Smith

MPAA Rating

Review

The war is over and it’s time to find some scapegoats. That’s what the British are trying to do to three Australian bushmen who fought bravely in the Boer War.

Centered on a trial, “‘Breaker’ Morant” uses flashbacks to show what really happened during the incursion that has gotten Lieutenants Harry Morant (Edward Woodward), Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and George Witton (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) arrested.

They are on trial for executing some African guerrillas under order from higher brass, but without any true proof that they received the orders.

During one scene, we find Morant in charge of the bushmen after their previous commander had been killed. They have captured one of the guerrillas who happen to be wearing articles of their commander’s clothing. They are angered a great deal and Morant orders that the guerrilla be executed for his crimes. Everyone decides to pick up a gun and fire at the prisoner, yet Morant is charged for having given the order in the first place.

Later, after a traveling priest stops to preach to the caged prisoners, Morant orders that Handcock go after him and kill him for disobeying his orders for the priest NOT to speak with the prisoners. Since the execution happened in the desert, no one can prove that Handcock had anything to do with it. His story is that he had visited three women in nearby towns that day, one of which happened to be the wife of a high military official.

After the trial, the end is quite evident, but the story to that point helps show how little concern the Brits truly had for their Australian foot soldiers, simply because they weren’t British.

Woodward delivers a fine performance as the soft-spoken commander, Brown is effectively hot-tempered and Fitz-Gerald is terrifically naïve. “Morant” is an intriguing morality play. While soldiers do follow orders, there’s no escaping a military justice system bent on labeling soldiers as scapegoats despite a near-perfect defense.

“Morant” is the film that got Bruce Beresford noticed and for that, we can be glad. Beresford went on to direct the “Tender Mercies” and the wonderful “Driving Miss Daisy.” Another reason to be glad is that “Morant” is an effective film that is quite touching and reactive. You have no problem hoping for the three lieutenants’ lives, which makes the film all that more interesting to watch.