Review - Devotion (2022)

Over Thanksgiving Weekend, my Bonnie Bride and I went to see the movie Devotion, the true story of Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) and Tom Hudner (Glen Powell), two Naval Aviators during the lead up to, and opening days of the Korean War, and directed by J.D. Dillard. In many ways, this is an important film to see as it covers a lot of territory in the life of Ensign Brown. I’ll try and avoid spoilers as I write about this film. I would also suggest looking up both men on wikipedia and learn more about them. I will include links to their respective entries at the end of this post.

Devotion poster - IMDB

Although taking place at the onset of the Korean War, most of the film takes place in the months immediately prior to the onset of that war, beginning at a Naval air station in Rhode Island. Jesse Brown was the first Black American to graduate from the Navy’s Basic Aviation School (1948), and we get a bit of an inkling of the adversity he had to deal with at the time the movie takes place, being a Black man in a predominantly White aviation community. At some points, the stench of racism that Brown had to deal with hits you smack in the face, and how he faced bigotry, with honor and grace.

It is also a love story, as we meet Jesse Brown’s wife, Daisy (Christina Jackson), and their young daughter (whose name I didn’t catch). His absolute devotion and love for his wife is shown in many ways. And it is a film about camaraderie, friendship, and heroism, the act of putting your own life on the line so that others may live.

Jonathan Majors as Jesse Brown and Glen Powell as Tom Hudner - IMDB

The acting by the whole cast is top notch, from the lead actors and supporting cast to the minor players we encounter. The directing by J.D. Dillard is spot on, as is all of the other technical aspects of the production of this film. The entire creative team worked very hard on this film as for many of them, especially the leads and director, it is clear that this film was a labor of love for them and they wanted to get it right down to the smallest detail, even using some of the few airworthy aircraft of the era such as the Corsairs and the helicopter used at the time that the events of the film took place.

For both my Bonnie Bride and I, the ending did bring a tear of sadness to our eyes. Yep, it is okay for a grown man to shed a tear when your emotions are hit. And this film did just that.

As the film closes, and before the credits roll, there is a series of photos from the time the film takes place, and after, of Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner, and a bit of how their respected families continue to be friends to this day, as well as a photo of the director, J.D. Dillard, as a child, with his father, Bruce Dillard in his Navy uniform, himself being a Naval Aviator and a Blue Angel.

Devotion is a fabulous film, and certainly one of the best war films made in recent years, and, in my opinion, a much better film than Top Gun: Maverick (which Glen Powell was also in, as well as Kevin LaRosa, who set up the flight sequences for both films). A well made film based on a true story outranks a film that is purely fiction in my book.

For more information on Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner, check out the following links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_L._Brown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Hudner_Jr.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_firsts#1940s]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_firsts#1940s) - Jesse Brown is listed in the year 1948

Hopefully I kept the spoilers to a bare minimum, and thanks for stopping by.