“Glory” is a film about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first African American units to be formed and fight in the American Civil War. The story picks up when Robert Gould Shaw, a white, Union Captain, is injured at Antietam, sent home, and takes command of the newly formed 54th. He struggles to balance discipline and trust-building until he properly outfits the troops and they deploy for battle. After insulting and demotivating months of manual labor, the unit finally gets a taste of battle. Proving that African Americans fight valiantly, they are deployed to lead the charge at Fort Wagner. I’m half mindful of spoilers and half cavalier about spoiling “history”—but I suppose I’ll stop my recap there!
The story is inspirational and beautifully depicted. It features a terrific cast, including Mathew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, and Andre Braugher, who mostly delivered stellar performances. The real breakout reveal for me was James Horner’s fantastic score, which grew with the self-realization of the regiment and came into full-force before the Fort Wagner battle. The whole thing is “The Land Before Time” meets “1812 Overture” and I loved it!
It’s pretty rare that I watch a 2 hour film and feel it could have ran longer. We could have further explored Shaw’s cowardice or the motivation of the men serving. I also felt like the film was too loose-and-fast with when it chose to adhere to historical record and when it chose to dramatize, with most of the main characters being manufactured around the very real Colonel Shaw. And finally, the storytelling is a bit inhibited by the battle sequences which didn’t technically live up to the drama.
Still, the film outshines these flaws to share a story about courage, honor, and leadership. America has always had a complicated relationship with the status and rights of those who fight for this country (just last week, it was announced that Trump wanted to end deportation-protection for family members of active military). The story of the 54th is as essential to our national heritage as the American Revolution or D-Day. I remain ever thankful to the men who fought for the individual rights of Americans.