As the story of the first African-American to become an aviator in the US Navy, Devotion is trying to be many things at once: the struggles of a coloured man on the ground (it’s the 1950s), the challenges of landing an aircraft on a ship, the technicalities of flying one in the air, matters of the brain, questions of the heart, hate and love, anger and calm, and for one ambitious, but ultimately inconsequential, moment, also about Liz Taylor (yes, the one and only).
Taking the weight of the film’s title a bit too seriously, director Dillard, himself the son of a Naval aviator, puts the aforesaid hero, Ensign Jesse Brown (Majors), on a pedestal and won’t allow him a moment to be entirely human. Even his interactions with his wife Daisy (Jackson) – so devoted to Brown that she seems to move in slow motion around him – are an exchange in quotable quotes. The daughter, a toddler, is not allowed even one single child-like moment.
Nothing, in short, stirs the heroism of Brown hanging over every frame of Devotion. Dillard also opts for a solemn rather than stirring kind of heroism, where the Lieutenant Commander (Sadoski, trying very, very hard to inject a Top Gun-like flippancy into the whole atmosphere) routinely lapses into crisp explanations of the latest on the Communism-as-a-threat front.
The title encompasses the movie perfectly. Devotion is such a pretty word, and a heavy one. It holds so much meaning, and it’s not something used lightly! The way this film portrayed the devotion between all the characters was beautiful — it showed a lot of quiet love. Mostly, from Daisy and Jesse — from the moment we first see Daisy, painting the walls of their house as Jesse steps in from work. Their love was never grandly portrayed; it existed quietly, but it doesn’t mean that their love isn’t less. It never is.
The two of them are completely devoted to each other; just so in love that it actually made my heart hurt. I could feel their love through the screen whenever they were shown together, or were talked about. I genuinely felt on the verge of tears — I especially felt so much during the ending. Jesse was reading his final letter to Daisy, and it was signed with, “your devoted husband…” I personally love when titles are seen/spoken in a movie, I love it when things come around full-circle. (Also, I think it’s crazy how that final letter was dated on December 3rd, and I saw this on December 3rd!)
Then, the title ties back around to Jesse and Tom’s friendship. Early on in the film, Tom meets Daisy for the first time. She asks him what he’s fighting for — or, what’s he devoted to? However, he doesn’t answer the question, instead telling her that he still needs to find out. And it paves the way for how his and Jesse’s friendship blossoms. There’s an underlying tension, but as they start to be in each other’s space and simply exist with one another, we start figuring out that this is what he’s devoted to. The people we’re introduced with add on to this — he’s devoted to his squadron, his people, and especially his wingman. Later, we find out how far he’s willing to go for that person — crashing his plane in enemy territory to help his friend.
The cinematography was so beautiful… everything about it left me in awe. Breathtaking shots, and I enjoyed every single one. This is pretty small, but in particular, I loved the title card! Seeing the props of the plane as well as the engine, then seeing Devotion pop up was so satisfying to me. Another shot I enjoyed was seeing Tom’s back when he was back on the carrier, the music combined with his slouch and unresponsiveness just left me miserable. You could truly tell her was devastated. And, I loved the addition of seeing what I assume is Jesse’s handwriting to close the film!
Jonathan has an insane range, and once you see this movie — you’ll understand that he’s so talented. Not only talented, but so hardworking and dedicated — it’s criminal he doesn’t have the same status as some other popular male actors out there. I’m glad this movie was able to highlight how well he can act, and how well he can make you feel. I felt so much when watching him, and he truly deserves much, much, much, more recognition.
Glen Powell’s performance here was moving as well! Honestly, his performance is more subdued compared to Jonathan, but it fits his character well, if that makes sense. I don’t want to compare the two — they both had challenging roles that I believe they exceeded in! It was really interesting to see Glen portray Tom. In all of Glen’s work (and believe me… I’ve seen… a good portion… of his work…), he tends to play Big and Loud and Boisterous characters. Even if his character doesn’t have many lines, his character’s presence is always known. There’s a quirk to them. Even when he played John Glenn in Hidden Figures, he’s just not… quiet. In this film, he’s subdued. Quiet. Glen plays him with such a reverence, and I’m so glad he did. While Tom has a lot of lines in the film, it feels like he doesn’t. This isn’t a dig at Glen’s acting, in fact, I really appreciate this aspect. It adds contrast to his character and Jonathan’s, as well as to the rest of the squadron members.