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Devotion (2022 film)

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Devotion
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJ. D. Dillard
Screenplay by
  • Jake Crane
  • Jonathan A. Stewart
Based onDevotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice
2015 book
by Adam Makos
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyErik Messerschmidt
Edited byBilly Fox
Music byChanda Dancy
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) (TIFF)
  • November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23) (United States)
Running time
139 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90 million[2][3]
Box office$21.8 million[4][5]

Devotion is a 2022 American biographical war film based on the 2015 book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos, which tells of the comradeship between naval officers Jesse L. Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War.[6][7] It is directed by J. D. Dillard and written by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart.[8] The film stars Jonathan Majors as Brown and Glen Powell as Hudner, along with Christina Jackson, Daren Kagasoff, Joe Jonas, Nick Hargrove, Spencer Neville, and Thomas Sadoski in supporting roles.

Devotion premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in IMAX at the Ontario Place Cinesphere on September 12, 2022, and was released by Columbia Pictures through Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States on November 23, 2022.[9][10] While it received positive reviews from critics and audiences, it was a post-COVID-19 box-office bomb, grossing only $21.8 million worldwide against a $90 million budget.[2][11]

Plot

[edit]

In early 1950, Lieutenant Tom Hudner transfers to Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, where he meets Ensign Jesse Brown, the only black member of the unit. Hudner integrates well into the squadron, which is assigned F4U-4 Corsairs – powerful planes with a reputation for fatal accidents if not handled properly. After Brown's car breaks down, Hudner starts giving him rides and eventually meets his wife Daisy and their young daughter Pam. The Browns are doing well, but struggle with racist neighbors, and Brown has resorted to shouting racist abuse at himself in the mirror for motivation before missions.

VF-32 passes their carrier tests with the Corsair and transfer to the USS Leyte, which is deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to deter Soviet aggression. Before they leave, Daisy has Hudner promise that he will be there for Jesse. On the voyage, squadron member Mohring is killed in a crash while attempting to land a Corsair. Hudner questions why Mohring did not follow instructions, but Brown explains that one cannot always follow directions – if Brown had solely done what he himself was told, he would have been stopped early in his career by the many racist superior officers who wanted him to fail.

The unit has shore leave in Cannes, France, where Brown encounters actress Elizabeth Taylor on the beach and secures invitations for the squadron to a casino, impressing them. After Hudner gets in a drunken fight with a Marine who had previously harassed Brown, Brown tells Hudner not to fight his battles for him, but simply to be there for him. Brown is given an expensive watch by Leyte's black crewmen, who admire him for his work.

The next day, the squadron is informed that war has broken out between North and South Korea, and Leyte is redeploying to support the South. In November 1950, VF-32 arrives in Korea and learns that Chinese troops have entered the war on the North Korean side and begun to push American forces back. The squadron deploys to destroy a pair of bridges on the Yalu River between China and North Korea, though they are only permitted to fire on the Korean side of the border. Brown and Hudner fight off a MiG-15 fighter jet while the others attack the bridges, but one remains standing. While Hudner orders a retreat in the face of anti-air fire from the Chinese side of the river, Brown disobeys him and attacks the bridge solo, successfully crippling it.

Hudner's after-action report praises Brown but also mentions that he was acting against orders, which Brown tells Hudner will be used as an excuse to deny him promotions for the rest of his career, despite Hudner's attempt to revise the report. On another mission to support besieged Marines at Chosin Reservoir (including the Marine who earlier harassed Brown), Brown's Corsair is crippled, and he is forced to crash-land in a clearing in the mountains of North Korea. Hudner sees that Brown is alive but trapped in his cockpit and deliberately crashes his own plane in the clearing in order to aid Brown. Though he puts out an engine fire, Hudner is unable to extract the wounded Brown from the wreckage, and Brown dies shortly after a Marine Sikorsky helicopter arrives to assist him. Back on Leyte, Hudner's commander determines that it is too risky to attempt to recover Brown's body from the Chinese-controlled area, and VF-32 (minus the injured Hudner) is instead sent on a "funeral flight" to destroy the downed Corsairs, with Brown's corpse still inside.

Several months later, a heartbroken Hudner receives the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for his attempts to save Brown. Hudner speaks with Daisy after the ceremony and apologizes for failing to rescue her husband. Daisy remarks that she only made him promise to be there for Jesse, not to save him, and Hudner tells her that Jesse's final words were about how much he loved her.

The film ends with a note that Brown's remains have never been recovered from North Korea, and that Hudner and Brown's families remain close friends to this day.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

In March 2018, Black Label Media optioned the rights to Devotion on Glen Powell's recommendation, coming aboard as a producer and commitment to play Tom Hudner.[13] In December 2019, it was announced that Jonathan Majors was cast as Jesse Brown and J. D. Dillard was set to direct.[14] In September 2020, it was announced that Sony Pictures would distribute the film under the Columbia Pictures label in North America, while STXfilms would handle international sales and distribution for the film.[15] In February 2021, Serinda Swan was cast as Elizabeth Taylor.[16]

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 lone black man in a predominantly white aviation community. In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, he said, "Both technically and socially, they both dealt with isolation and there’s so many pieces there that I think ultimately just became the DNA of the film."[17][18] Dillard's father also visited the set and served as a technical advisor for the film. His contribution to the film is recognized by a separate card in the end credits.

Powell, who read Adam Makos's book when it first came out in 2015, brought it to Molly Smith of Black Label to option and went to visit Thomas J. Hudner Jr. shortly before he died in 2017.[19] He was struck by the photographs and mementos of Jesse Brown around the house, remarking that, "I saw what weight that was on him. It wasn’t a celebration, it was a constant reminder of a friend he lost and I carried that weight into this role."[17][18]

F4U-1A Corsair painted as F4U-4 for the film[20]

Principal photography began on February 4, 2021, in Savannah, Georgia.[21] Filming also took place in Charleston, South Carolina, East Wenatchee[22] and Pasco, Washington, Statesboro, Georgia, and from March 17 to April 13, 2021, at the Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport,[23] where a full-size recreation of the USS Leyte was built.[24][25][26] The wintry landscape of Washington state stood in for the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.[25][27]

Dillard was determined to create practical effects using real aircraft as much as possible, including several F4U Corsairs, an AD Skyraider, two F8F Bearcat fighters, one of the few remaining flyable HO5S-1 helicopters, and a MiG-15.[18][28][29][26] The 11 aircraft were painted with the dark colors and prominent lettering of the squadrons of the period.[25] Dillard hired aerial stunt coordinator Kevin LaRosa, who created the flight sequences for Top Gun: Maverick.[28][29] A modified L-39 Albatros trainer was used as an air-to-air camera platform.[28][29] Interior footage of actors flying the Bearcat was created using a Hawker Sea Fury with its rear seat modified to resemble a Bearcat cockpit and visible parts of the aircraft painted like a VF-32 Bearcat, allowing actors to simulate piloting the aircraft during actual aerial maneuvers.[29][26] Real audio of a Corsair in flight was captured with five microphones for use in the soundtrack.[30]

Music

[edit]

Chanda Dancy, a graduate of USC Thornton School of Music, composed the movie soundtrack,[31] which was released by Lakeshore Records. The soundtrack was shortlisted for Best Original Score on Dec 21, 2022 for the 95th Academy Awards,[32] but did not get the ultimate nomination on Jan 24, 2023.[33]

Joe Jonas and Khalid wrote and performed a duet to the end credits song called "Not Alone",[34][35] but the single was not part of the soundtrack,[36][37] and not shortlisted for Academy Award for Best Original Song.[32]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Forgotten War"2:22
2."The Lighthouse"4:06
3."The Corsair"0:54
4."Jesse"1:42
5."Procedure"2:17
6."Quiet Night"2:23
7."On the Edge"5:05
8."Pam"1:41
9."You Belong in the Sky"2:48
10."Carol's Death"2:35
11."You Can't Always Do What You're Told"3:10
12."All Bets Are On"2:35
13."I Fight My Own Fights"0:50
14."Sinuiju"1:59
15."Sortie"4:20
16."River Run"2:11
17."Hagaru"2:36
18."We See You"1:18
19."A Gift for Daisy"2:23
20."Return to Chosin"1:21
21."Metal Angels"2:07
22."Jesse Crashes"2:50
23."Measure of a Man"2:00
24."Devotion"3:29
25."Aftermath"2:08
26."Accepting What We Can't Accept"3:29
27."Medals"2:00
28."Be There for Them"2:39
29."Closing Credits"2:08
Total length:71:26

Release

[edit]

Devotion had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in IMAX at the Ontario Place Cinesphere on September 12, 2022, and also as the opening night film of Film Fest 919 on October 19, 2022. It had its U.S. premiere at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival on October 22, 2022.[38][1][39] It was theatrically released on November 23, 2022.[40] It was originally scheduled to be released in limited theaters on October 14, 2022, followed by a wide expansion on October 28, 2022.[41]

Home media

[edit]

Devotion was released on Digital HD and for streaming on Paramount+ on January 8, 2023,[42] in North America with Paramount Pictures taking over distribution from Sony. It was released in the United Kingdom via Prime Video[43] and select regions via Netflix on January 20, 2023,[44] in UHD HDR10+, with releases on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on February 28, 2023, by Paramount Home Entertainment.[45]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Devotion grossed $20.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $21.7 million.[4][5] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net losses of the film to be $89.2 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[46]

In the United States and Canada, Devotion was released alongside Strange World and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as well as with the wide expansions of The Fabelmans and Bones and All, and was projected to gross $7–8 million from 3,405 theaters over its five-day opening weekend.[47] The film made $1.8 million on its first day, including $615,000 from Tuesday night previews.[48][49] It went on to debut to $5.9 million in its opening weekend and $9 million over the five days, finishing fourth. It was the overall lowest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend box office in decades.[50][51] In its sophomore weekend the film made $2.7 million, finishing fourth.[52]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 118 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Honoring real-life history while delivering impactful drama, Devotion is a straightforward biopic elevated by standout performances from a talented cast."[53] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[54] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film an overall 91% positive score.[49]

Matthew Creith from Screen Rant wrote "Stylized and cultured, Devotion soars when least expected and is brought to life by its talented ensemble cast led by Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell."[55]

Accolades

[edit]
Accolades received by Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
African-American Film Critics Association Awards March 1, 2023 Best Picture Nominated [56]
Black Reel Awards February 6, 2023 Outstanding Film Nominated [57]
Outstanding Actor Jonathan Majors Nominated
Outstanding Production Design Wynn Thomas Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association January 13, 2023 Oglethorpe Award for Excellence Nominated [58]
NAACP Image Awards February 25, 2023 Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Jonathan Majors Nominated [59]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Theatrical distribution only; home media rights in the US and Canada were handled by Paramount Home Entertainment.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Devotion". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Ryan Scott (November 28, 2022). "Strange World, The Fabelmans, And Devotion All Bombed Big Time At The Box Office". /Film. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "'Strange World' and 'Devotion' Disappoint at Thanksgiving Box Office". www.urbanhollywood411.com. November 27, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Devotion (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Devotion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Lawrence, Andrew (November 24, 2022). "Devotion: the true story behind a film about the navy's first Black aviator". The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Zee, Michaela (July 28, 2022). "Tony-Nominated Actor Thomas Sadoski Signs With Verve". Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Mendelson, Scott. "Box Office 'Devotion,' Featuring Glen Powell, Could Get A Boost From 'Top Gun: Maverick'". Forbes. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Frank, Jason P. (August 4, 2022). "TIFF, Feeling 'White and Nerdy,' Adds Weird: The Al Yankovic Story to Its Lineup". Vulture. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Luo, Chuqi (August 2, 2022). "Sony Pictures Releases New Poster and Trailer for 'Devotion'". Glitter Magazine. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Benjamin Lee (December 2, 2022). "Box office blues: why are so many films bombing this season?". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Sisk, Richard (June 14, 2018). "MoH Recipient Gave Nation 'A Lesson in The Brotherhood of Man'". Military.com. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  13. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 4, 2018). "True Korean War Fighter Pilot Story Devotion Set At Black Label With Glen Powell To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 5, 2019). "Jonathan Majors To Co-Pilot Black Label's Korean War Pic Devotion". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  15. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (September 4, 2020). "Sony Pre-Buys Domestic On War Pic Devotion With Jonathan Majors & Glen Powell, STX Boards Int'l". Deadline. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 4, 2021). "Serinda Swan To Play Elizabeth Taylor In Black Label Media's Korean War Pic Devotion". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Fleming, Ryan (September 14, 2022). "'Devotion's JD Dillard, Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Joe Jonas, Christina Jackson & Thomas Sadoski On Telling A Story That "Impacts The World"". Deadline Hollywood. PMC.
  18. ^ a b c Barber, James (August 4, 2022). "Korean War Drama 'Devotion' Used Real Vintage Aircraft to Tell a True Story". military.com.
  19. ^ Kahn, Joseph P. (November 13, 2017). "Thomas J. Hudner Jr., 93, war hero and veterans' affairs commissioner". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  20. ^ "Epic Korean War Movie Devotion Gets Thanksgiving Release". Warbirds News. July 11, 2022.
  21. ^ Jennerjahn, Allie (February 4, 2021). "Filming for new movie 'Devotion' starts Wednesday in Savannah". Fox 28 Savannah. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Dunn, Ian (February 5, 2021). "Details released about war movie being filmed in Wenatchee skies". The Wenatchee World. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  23. ^ "Devotion - Production Listing". Productionlist.com. December 7, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  24. ^ Grice, DeWayne (March 18, 2021). "Major Movie Production "Devotion" Filming Scenes at Statesboro-Bulloch Airport". Grice Connect.
  25. ^ a b c Makos, Adam; Boswell, Trevor (November 23, 2022). "The F4U Corsair and 'Devotion'". The Fighter Pilot Podcast (Podcast). 65 minutes in.
  26. ^ a b c Tegler, Jan (December 9, 2022). "Flying for "Devotion"". Flight Journal.
  27. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 1, 2021). "Taking Flight: The Story Behind War Epic 'Devotion' And Its Little-Known American Heroes". Deadline. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Wiseman, Andreas (February 1, 2021). "Devotion: Bearcats, Corsairs, & Real Moviemaking Oh My!" (Press release). Black Label Media. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  29. ^ a b c d Busha, Jim (November 2022). "Bond of Brothers" (PDF). EAA Sport Aviation. Oshkosh, Wisconsin: Experimental Aircraft Association. pp. 52–63. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  30. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (December 9, 2022). "How 'Devotion' Sound Team Captured Authentic 1950 F4U Corsair Engines for Wartime Drama". Variety.
  31. ^ Sean (November 18, 2022). "Chanda Dancy to compose score for upcoming film "Devotion"". USC Thornton School of Music. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  32. ^ a b "95TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED". press.oscars.org. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "2023 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  34. ^ "Joe Jonas on Writing 'Not Alone' for 'Devotion'". November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  35. ^ "Joe Jonas and Khalid Honor Veterans with Emotional Video for Duet 'Not Alone' from Film Devotion". Peoplemag. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  36. ^ "Devotion: Not Alone (Single) Soundtrack (2022)". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  37. ^ "Devotion Soundtrack (2022)". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  38. ^ Welk, Brian (July 29, 2022). "TIFF 2022 Lineup: Films From Tyler Perry, Peter Farrelly, Sam Mendes and Catherine Hardwicke to Premiere". TheWrap.
  39. ^ "Jonás Cuarón Will Direct Bad Bunny in Sony's 'El Muerto,' First Marvel Superhero Film with Latino Lead – Film News in Brief". October 4, 2022.
  40. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 6, 2022). "'Devotion': Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell Korean War Movie To Go Wide During Thanksgiving". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  41. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 20, 2022). "'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' Heads To Summer 2023; Sony Dates 'Equalizer 3' Among Other Release Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  42. ^ "Paramount Press Express | FEATURING A STAR-STUDDED CAST AND SPECTACULAR AERIAL ACTION, "DEVOTION" WILL STREAM ON PARAMOUNT+ AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO BUY ON DIGITAL JAN. 8". www.paramountpressexpress.com. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  43. ^ Ehenulo, Kelechi (January 27, 2023). "Devotion - Review". Empire Online. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  44. ^ Rodriguez, Mia (December 16, 2022). "10 Exciting Titles Coming to Netflix This January". Spot.ph. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  45. ^ "Devotion [Includes Digital Copy] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray] [2022]". Best Buy. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  46. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 14, 2023). "The Biggest Box Office Bombs Of 2022: Deadline's Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  47. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 21, 2022). "Disregard The Corporate Noise: Disney Will Dominate Thanksgiving Box Office With 'Wakanda Forever' & 'Strange World'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  48. ^ Lang, Brent (November 23, 2022). "Box Office: Disney's 'Strange World' Grosses Disappointing $800,000 in previews". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  49. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 27, 2022). "'Wakanda Forever' Settles At $64M 5-Day, 'Strange World' Crashes $18M+, 'Knives Out 2' Wows With $13M+ – Thanksgiving Box Office Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  50. ^ Davis, Clayton (November 25, 2022). "Why Awards Voters Shouldn't Dismiss 'Bones and All,' 'Devotion' and 'Strange World' Despite Slow Box Office Starts". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  51. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (November 27, 2022). "This Was the Worst Thanksgiving Weekend in Box-Office History". IndieWire. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  52. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 4, 2022). "'Wakanda Forever' Overperforms During Sleepy December Weekend; 'Violent Night' Too With $13M+ – Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  53. ^ "Devotion". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 3, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  54. ^ "Devotion". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  55. ^ Creith, Matthew (September 19, 2022). "Devotion Review: A Respectful War Epic That Flies High On Its True Story Elements". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  56. ^ Complex, Valerie (December 8, 2022). "The Woman King Tops The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) List of the Ten Best Films of the Year". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  57. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 15, 2022). "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Woman King lead 2023 Black Reel Awards nominations". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  58. ^ "2022 Georgia Film Critics Association Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  59. ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 12, 2023). "NAACP Image Awards 2023: Wakanda Forever, The Woman King Among Top Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
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