Breaker Morant (DVD)

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"Well, Peter, this is what comes of empire building."
-Harry "Breaker" Morant

"Breaker Morant" (1980), based on a true story, is a courtroom drama set during the Boer War, one of the many charming affairs in which the British Empire indulged before finally giving up the ghost as the world´s last, lingering colonial power. The film garnered attention both at Cannes and the Oscars, and all but swept the Australian film awards. It also provided the first breakthrough for director Bruce Beresford, who made a pretty good run of it in the 80s, directing critical successes such as "Tender Mercies", "Crimes of the Heart", and 1990 Best Picture Winner "Driving Miss Daisy."

It´s somewhat ironic that Harry "Breaker" Morant became a cult hero in Australia. He was actually born and raised in England before effectively being exiled to Australia, where he won modest fame as a jack of all trades: a horse breaker (thus the nickname), a poet, and one bloody, vicious soldier. As the film begins, Morant and two fellow soldiers are on trial for the murder of several Boer prisoners.

Morant is played by Edward Woodward (better known to pop culture addicts as The Equalizer) who absolutely steals the show. Stalwart and dignified, yet simultaneously tough and ruthless, Woodward portrays Morant as a man resigned to his fate. He knows the army has already decided his destiny, and barely even struggles to fight it.

Morant´s lawyer, J.F. Thomas (played exceptionally well by Jack Thompson who won Best Supporting Actor at Cannes), is much more optimistic about the whole affair. The inexperienced country defense lawyer battling the slick, sophisticated prosecutor is one of the most cherished tropes of the courtroom drama subgenre, and Major Thomas is no exception. More used to writing wills than trying murder cases, and given only one day to prepare, he still manages a stiff defense, revealing witness after witness to be a fool or a liar. He dismantles every argument the prosecution throws his way, doing all he possibly can to fight for his clients.

But "Breaker Morant" is no "My Cousin Vinny." The deck is stacked against the defense from the very start, and Beresford never seriously tries to sell us on the possibility of a happy ending. The British Army is unable to admit its own atrocities, and needs to find scapegoats to explain the wave of brutal executions of Boer prisoners; far easier to attribute such barbarous behavior to their uncivilized Australian cousins than to find fault with their own. The Australian government, seeking legitimacy, provides no assistance either. Morant´s been sold out by all sides.

The bulk of the action takes place in the courtroom, a dingy, cramped basement room with pale white/puke green walls. As various accusations surface, Beresford cuts to extended flashbacks, and the effect is often startling. Beresford relies heavily on long shots of rolling hills and wispy blue skies, producing some extended lyrical sequences which intensify the claustrophobia of the featureless courtroom. The sense of loss is palpable; the soldier/bard Morant once roamed free and proud under the open sky. Now he can only circle helplessly like a fish in a tiny bowl.

The entire film is painted in earth tones, ranging from pale khaki to dirt brown, with flesh tones popping and crackling in the middle of the spectrum. Primary colors need not apply. Yet the film is anything but drab or ugly. "Breaker Morant" features some remarkable sequences, including a daring dawn raid on the prison by Boer commandos and the assassination of the German missionary Hess, a scene filmed almost entirely in extreme long shots, capturing the majesty of the infinite landscape and reducing its human figures to mere cosmic specks. Beresford was obviously a Terrence Malick fan.

The courtroom is often the place where good films go to die, and the film suffers from the static, repetitive staging of the court martial. The testimony drags on and on and provides only a modicum of suspense since it´s obvious from an early stage that the verdict was long since decided. I frequently found myself waiting eagerly for each protracted courtroom interlude to end, so we could return to the good stuff out on the battlefield.