Devotion
A film that defines the meaning of friendship.
This is a movie that tells the story of Jesse Brown, the first black pilot in the U.S. Navy. It takes place in 1950 and joins Till in describing what it was like to be a black American in the middle of the 20th Century.
Jesse is played with style and grace by Jonathan Majors. Married with a small child, Christina Jackson gives a memorable performance as a wife who just wants her dear husband to survive and come home.
With Korea exploding in turmoil, Jesse was shipped with fellow pilots to monitor the emerging conflict. In the process, the racial divide is pierced when he becomes close friends with Tom Hudner, a white comrade.
Glen Powell gives a quietly intriguing performance as Hudner, a skilled pilot who diffuses the frequent racial tension that hovers over and around Jesse. In a sense you are reminded of what Jackie Robinson experienced at that time as the first black man to play Major League Baseball.
While the film spends a great deal of time exploring the evolving friendship of Jesse and Tom, all hell breaks loose when the war erupts in Korea. Our pilots must fly the dangerous mission of trying to save trapped Marines at the Chosen Reservoir in northeast Korea. The flight and battle scenes match those seen in this year’s Top Gun.
While I dare not give away the ending, let me just say that Jesse and Tom make sacrifices that make them honored Navy wingmen.
