"YOUNG WASHINGTON" ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY IN 30 YEARS

Angel Studios shows it can still make a classic

Epic in its cinematography (often shot in Ireland for vast, green vistas), perfectly cast, and adroitly written, “Young Washington” is an A. William Franklyn-Miller IS the young, ambitious militia major who learns from his losses and who never shows fear.

Produced on a budget of about $20 million, “Young Washington” tells the story of George Washington from the moment his father died until his appointment as a colonel in the Virginia Militia during the French and Indian War. He grew up with social and class hurdles, his family not wealthy like the Fairfaxes. But Washington’s half-brother Lawrence undertook to make young George a learned gentleman, teaching him Cato, Cicero, and other classics.

Thwarted in his romantic pursuit of Sally Cary (Mia Rodgers), Washington follows his ambition to be a British officer by volunteering, with no pay, to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley. Instead, his men are blasted out of "Ft. Necessity” forcing the young major to return with his report to Robert Dinwiddie (Ben Kingsley) who at first is sneering and skeptical of the colonials, but after Gen. Edward Braddock leads a column of British regulars into an ambush trying to evict the French, Washington takes control of the retreat and returns many of the troops safely—-all while having musketball holes decorating his coat.

The two ongoing themes are that America is a different place, meaning that old world methods didn’t work here, and that the Indians faced a constantly evolving matrix of alliances, sometimes with the French, sometimes with the British, realizing neither were their true friends.

I had only two very minor criticisms, both involving the combat scenes, Cannonballs rarely exploded in the air as modern artillery shells do, but rather had (as depicted in the game “Stratego”) were bombs with fuses. The ball would land, then explode if the fuse was correctly cut. The other quibble was too many soldiers and Indians alike were knocked backwards off their feet by a musket shot. Once in a while, maybe, but not often. And I would have loved to see, after a short pause, the near-final scene of a powerful explosion in front of Washington end with him, finally, emerging from the smoke. But these are absolutely “cherry-on-top” kinds of preferences. Great cast, including Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, and Mary Louise-Parker.

Go see this movie in a theater. Box Office Mojo says it has taken in roughly $16 million domestic already with a domestic projection estimated to be between $80 and $140 million. That is fantastic on a $20 million budget, meaning the movie almost certainly will make money, and contrasted with a loser like “Supergirl” (budget and advertising of $175 million with an opening weekend take of under $40 million) will have a lucrative return on investment. It’s a standard I hope our own efforts with “Patriot’s History: The Pilgrims” can live up to.

Grade: A

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Larry Schweikart (@CyberneticsLS on Truth, @LarrySchweikart on X)

Rock drummer, Film maker,NYTimes #1 bestselling author

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