There has never been a major film about America’s first president.
That’s a remarkable fact considering that he is an ever-present figure in America — his face graces our dollar bills, countless memorials, and a giant mountain in South Dakota.
But for whatever reason, he’s never been the subject of a major biopic — not even during Hollywood’s patriotic Golden Age.
YOUNG WASHINGTON MOVIE: YOUTHFUL FLAWS COST LIVES
Enter the Wonder Project, led by director Jon Erwin, and Angel Studios, the distributor of faith-based programs, such as Sound of Freedom and The Chosen. Through their collective efforts, they have accomplished what so many others never even attempted: a movie about Washington worthy of its monumental subject.
I had a chance to watch the film, titled Young Washington, at an early screening last week at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. As someone long fascinated by George Washington, I came into the theater hoping for a great Washington film. I left convinced I had just seen one.
Rather than cover the most familiar parts of Washington’s life — his tenure during the Revolutionary War or his presidency — the film focuses on his early 20s during the French and Indian War.
In short, it is an origin story.
And unlike the Washington we’ve come to admire, his younger self was brash, ambitious to a fault, and more than willing to disobey superiors to attain military glory.
After all, he literally ignited a global conflict known as the Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War, at age 22 when he brazenly attacked a French detachment near modern-day Pittsburgh in 1754.
His next battle, at Fort Necessity, was a major debacle that resulted in his humiliating surrender, further damaging his reputation.
And yet, it was also during this time that historians see glimpses of his future greatness: courage, composure, and a remarkable capacity to learn from his mistakes. These mistakes sobered him about the cruelty of war, helping mature him from an impertinent youth into the man of humility and judgment we later see in the history books.
Prior to viewing the film, I wondered if Erwin and William Franklyn-Miller, the actor cast to play Washington, would be able to capture this early version of our foremost Founding Father. Given their track record, I had a lot of faith in Angel, but wondered if it could resist the trend in Hollywood — not merely humanizing our most beloved figures, but “deconstructing” them, tearing them down until there’s nothing left to admire.
When I walked out of the screening room, I was convinced: This is the Washington I had read about in the history books.
In an impressive feat, Franklyn-Miller, just 22 as of this writing, pulled it off. He does convey Washington’s youthful hunger for glory. But he captures something else: Washington had a presence. As fellow founder Benjamin Rush wrote, “he has so much martial dignity in his deportment. … There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chamber by his side.”
Yes, part of it was that he was tall, 6 feet, 2 inches, at a time when most people barely made 5-foot-8. But part of it was his character: his poise, justice, and sense of honor.
While those qualities were still being formed in his early 20s, they were already evident.
Franklyn-Miller, despite being a newcomer to big-screen epics and carrying a tremendous responsibility on his shoulders, nailed it.
He’s also surrounded by an impressive cast: Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, Kelsey Grammer, and Mary-Louise Parker. It’s a testament to Angel’s success that these Hollywood veterans see the faith-based distributor not as a community to shun but as one worth collaborating with.
This is especially notable because the film is, in many ways, a subtle rebuke to modern Hollywood. First, and sadly, it is the only major film to celebrate, or have anything to do with, America’s milestone 250th birthday. In fact, it is one of the few historical films in recent years to portray American history in a fundamentally positive way.
Second, while it contains intense combat scenes, it does not have even a single vulgar word or moment of gratuitous sex or violence.
Whereas so many Hollywood films aim for cheap gravitas through “edgy” dialogue or sensory overload, Young Washington finds its appeal in the timeless ingredients of a good film. Yes, there is action, much of it intense. But there’s also humor — a naughty, 11-year-old George exasperating his older brother Lawrence — drama, and, of course, romance, in the form of George’s possible first love, Sally Fairfax.
But at its core, the movie is about a young man growing into greatness.
ANDY SERKIS: MY VERSION OF ANIMAL FARM HAS SPARKED ROBUST DEBATE. ORWELL WOULD HAVE APPROVED
In 1788, five years after the end of the Revolutionary War, a Frenchman who had visited Mount Vernon wrote of America’s foremost citizen, “His modesty is astonishing. … He speaks of the American War and of his victories as of things in which he had no direction.”
Young Washington is the story of how an impetuous soldier became that man.
Richard Lim hosts the This American President podcast and is the author of the forthcoming book Refusing a Crown: How George Washington Changed the World.