Glory : Tale of General Robert Gould Shaw

I just finished watching Glory (1989), starring Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington among others. I was watching Queen Latifa’s Beauty Shop on cable, where Alicia Silverstone’s character referred to this movie. So, I thought “Why, Not?” and went ahead and rented it.

Original Poster for Glory

The movie centres on General Robert Gould Shaw from his days as a Union Captain, to the man who lead the first ever “Black” Regiment, the 54^th Massachusetts, for the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War. Facing various hardships and racism from their white peers and superiors, and branded fit only for scavenging and hard-work, they emerged as a brave, tough group. In the assault on Fort Wagner, a Confederate Stronghold, General Shaw and most of the regiment were killed in action.

“When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.”

-The Charge of the Light Brigade, Lord Alfred Tennyson

As a word of bravery spread throughout U.S, Congress authorized drafting “Coloured” men in the military. Ultimately, Union Army won the war and slavery was abolished from U.S.

Matthew Broderick stars as General Robert Gould Shaw. Cary Elwes, stars as his best friend Major Cabot Forbes who is with him every step of the way. Morgan Freeman is Sgt. Major Rawlins, the first ever non-commissioned Black officer. Denzel Washington is Pvt. Trip, a foul-mouthed, sassy ex-slave who has run away from his master’s house where he was brutalized; while Andre Braugher is Cpl. Thomas Searles, a free-man who having grown-up with the General Shaw and Major Forbes, is the first one to volunteer for the company. Of course the movie took liberties; barring General Shaw all the characters are fictitious.

The movie was nominated for 5 Oscars, of which it won 3, including Best Actor in Supporting Role for Denzel Washington.

Denzel as usual shined in his performance. The best scene in the movie is the one where his character run away to find new shoes but is caught as a deserter and sentenced to whip-lashes, much to discomfort of Major Forbes. When he is being whipped, he purses his lips to prevent crying out loud, bearing the pain but it still shows in his eyes and a single drop of tear flows down his cheek. I won’t comment on Morgan Freeman, the guy is simply awesome, commenting on him is like commenting on Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar; he is great no matter what. There is one that stands out though, is when Trip calls him “a nigger” and “a white-man’s dawg, and he retaliates by saying, “And what are you? So full of hate you want to go out and fight everybody! Because you've been whipped and chased by hounds. Well that might not be living, but it sure as hell ain't dying. And dying's been what these white boys have been doing for going on three years now! Dying by the thousands! Dying for *you*, fool! I know, 'cause I dug the graves. And all this time I keep askin' myself, when, O Lord, when it's gonna be our time? Gonna come a time when we all gonna hafta ante up. Ante up and kick in like men. LIKE MEN! You watch who you call a nigger! If there's any niggers around here, it's YOU. Just a smart-mouthed, stupid-ass, swamp-runnin' nigger! And if you not careful, that's all you ever gonna be!”

Though most of the events focused in and around General Shaw, my favourite character happened to be Major Forbes. I guess I’m prejudiced to second leads, or ‘Sidekicks’ as they are popularly known. Throughout the movie I was watching him, a lot. I’ve always liked Cary Elwes – I fell in love while watching ‘Men in Tights’, a parody of Robin Hood, in which he was positively Hilarious. Actually, it *is* a Mel Brooks’ movie..., but he portrays the English-accented-English speaking Robin Hood perfectly (bats eyes). Anyway, here he was probably at his creative best, as someone, who represented authority while still trying to stay close to his roots. I actually thought that he actually seemed to light up when he was around Shaw; I was probably just imagining stuff, ‘cause IMDB Trivia for Glory says the two actors barely got along. But the best example of lighting up happens during the last Beach address, when Shaw moves up between the ranks and comes to stand in front of his troop. Forbes leaves but he has hint of a blink-and-you-miss-it smile, just as he is leaving. I had to rewind almost 3 times to see if it really was there. And it wasn’t a proud smile of a Man who is leading men into the battle; that kind of smile is proper and expected, it was there on all faces but this was one-of-a-kind smile of a kid, who’s finally getting what he always wanted.