Nowadays, if you love going to the movies you must either choose to watch a great film with degenerate themes or a wholesome film that is badly done.
Hollywood has the budget for intense action, brilliant acting, and well-written scripts – all very enjoyable if you are willing to ignore the politically-correct virtue signaling, senseless profanity, and vulgar sexuality of most of their films. The Christian or conservative-made films that don’t include these negative elements are generally slow and plodding, awkwardly acted, and cinematically underwhelming. To find a great movie that is inoffensive to Christian or conservative sensibilities is like a needle in the proverbial haystack.
“Young Washington,” the new release from Angel Studios, is one of those rare films.
“Young Washington” had to clear a pretty low bar to be worth the movie ticket price, yet it managed to wildly clear it. The battle scenes are intense and riveting. The acting is, at the very least, not awkward, and in many cases outright excellent. The story keeps viewers’ attention while managing to stay fairly historically accurate (more on that later).
Washington’s character is also compelling, no easy feat when casting the role of such a well-known and well-researched figure in American history. The historical settings – such as Colonial Williamsburg or pre-renovation Mount Vernon – draw viewers into the time period of the film, silently depicting the world in which Washington grew up.
Until one watches “Young Washington,” it can be difficult to believe that a truly entertaining and creative film can be made without typical Hollywood immoral decadence. Battle scenes without swearing? Romance without sex? Depictions of 1700s racial social dynamics without bellyaching about the hypocrisy of the founding fathers? Yet “Young Washington” does it all, making for a refreshing and enjoyable watch.
The best criticism that can be made of “Young Washington” is that in its pursuit of interesting storytelling and cinematic excellence it commits some historical blunders. As author Jon Harris points out in a Substack review of the film, “Young Washington” plays up a fictitious dynamic in Washington’s life, portraying him as a social outcast among Virginia’s aristocracy, as he is constantly upstaged and overlooked by those in a higher social station than him. An aristocrat himself, Washington would not have had a problem getting invited to the society events of the time, yet we see him sneaking into a party at the Fairfax mansion.
This dynamic is an obvious attempt to wink at his future role as commander-in-chief of a continental army that was fighting for equal rights and protections compared to their British counterparts. The film seems to imply that Washington led the Revolution because he sought to upend the British-influenced social caste system of the colonies, a contention for which there is little evidence.
An interaction after the Battle of the Monongahela between Washington and Gen. Thomas Gage provides a far better insight into Washington’s motives in the Revolution. As a weary Washington returns to the retreating Gage’s camp with his men, Gage explains that his own lack of heart for the fight is because his “home is an ocean away,” Washington responds by telling General Gage that this is the difference between the two of them and how they fight. Washington was fighting for his home and his people first and foremost.
More films like “Young Washington” should be made. “One gets the sense [Producer and Director Jon] Erwin … might have managed better with an extended series,” Cody Benjamin notes in his “Christianity Today” review of the film. While Benjamin’s comment is meant as a criticism – his review notes that the film speeds through aspects of Washington’s life which it should have “marinated” upon – it is one I hope the director of “Young Washington” reads and takes to heart. The film could easily be expanded into an engaging and interesting mini-series on Washington’s life, possibly covering his childhood, young adulthood, and his more well-known historical role as the “Father of our Country” during and immediately after the American Revolution.
Hopefully, this movie is the first of many movies, TV series, and shows that combine great filmmaking with conservative story elements.
Sarah Wilder is a writer and commentator on culture and the family. Formerly a reporter at the Daily Caller, her work has been published in Chronicles Magazine, The Federalist, and The American Mind.
This culture article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal, a project of 1819 News. To comment on this article, please email [email protected]. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News.
