‘Devotion’ a harrowing, impactful feature film

Jesse Brown was a U.S. Navy officer who was also the first African-American aviator to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program. Brown also was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, but ended up being the first African-American naval officer killed in the Korean War.

Tom Hudner was an officer of the U.S. Navy and a naval aviator. He rose to the rank of Captain, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

‘Devotion’ tells the inspirational true story of these two men.

Helping to turn the tide in the most brutal battle in the Korean War, their heroic sacrifices ultimately make them the Navy’s most celebrated wingman.

‘Devotion’ is an incredibly amazing film and a must watch for the fall season.

This engaging true story delivers a lot of phenomenal performances from the whole cast, especially from lead actors Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell (who audiences may recognize from another Navy hit — a little movie called ‘Top Gun: Maverick’). ‘Devotion’ can also be very heart-felt during some scenes and the film’s story is amazingly powerful.

The Navy fighter scenes are really well-done and do remind you a little bit of the ‘Top Gun’ movies. The filmmakers also did a great job balancing the amount of Navy fighting scenes with the amount of time to tell the main story of Brown and Hudner.

This emotional film also is one of the rare films that depicts the Korean War (a.k.a. The Forgotten War). The film is definitely one of those films that shouldn’t be missed and must be seen on the big screen. Also, the last few moments of the film are just simply powerful.

So, make sure to catch this harrowing true story at the Dietrich Theater!

The cast: Jonathan Majors as Jesse Brown; Glen Powell as Tom Hudner; Christina Jackson as Daisy Brown; Thomas Sadowski as Dick Cevoli; Daren Kagasoff as Bill Koenig; Joe Jonas as Marty Goode; Boone Platt as Buddy Gill, among many others.

‘Devotion’ is written by Jake Crane, Jonathan Stewart and based on a book by Adam Makos and directed by J.D. Dillard.

The film is based on the 2014 book ‘Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice’ by author Adam Makos. Makos is also known to be a military historian and was brought up in the Williamsport area. In March 2018, production company Black Label Media (12 Strong; Sicario: Day of the Soldado) optioned the rights to the book on actor Glen Powell’s recommendation.

Director J.D. Dillard felt a close personal connection to the subject as the son of a naval aviator himself, relied on stories related by his father as the lore black man in a predominately white aviation community,

‘Devotion’ is rated PG-13 for strong language, some war action/violence and smoking and has a running time of 138 minutes.

What did you think of this harrowing true story? Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page.

https://youtu.be/nIvBBd8pU1s