Nolan at the Movies: Young Washington Follows Commands, But Isn’t Yet Revolutionary

By Nolan Cleary 

In the middle of the outstanding new film "Young Washington," Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George Washington, attempts to teach his brother a lesson about pride and the dangers of not reaching too high.

That didactic moment is perhaps most analogous to the high ambitions of the film's director Jon Erwin, in his attempt to bring to life the formative years of America’s most famous founding father.

Young Washington follows George Washington in his young adult days, commanding the Virginia Militia into and through the French & Indian Wars. 

William Franklyn-Miller is the actor portraying a very human, youthful - and deconstructed - version of America’s would-be first President. Gone is the legend and the grandeur. 

Instead, Franklyn-Miller introduces a more humbled take on a still-learning younger side to the Father of America. This Washington is more inexperienced, finding his groundings, and often unsure of himself.

Young George Washington navigates high society in colonial Virginia; gets a profession (surveying); falls in love; volunteers and assumes his first military commands; and suffers the agony of losing friends and humiliating defeat on the battlefield.

Young Washington wisely avoids the pitfalls of other historic biopics, limiting its subject to a more narrow period of time, and allowing the film to feel more composed and less scatterbrained. 

The film's screenplay, written by Erwin, along with Tom Provost and Diederik Hoogstraten, places George Washington at a moral crossroads between loyalty and principle, developing the conflict of authority that would eventually lead to Washington’s fight for American independence. 

Erwin, Provost and Hoogstraten submerge themes of patriotism, fortitude and the consciousness of America into a story about scruples, moral conflict and developing character. 

The script is effective in developing a more relatable and grounded take on George Washington, while never losing sight of the morals and values surrounding him - through his family, commanding officers and friends - that continue to inspire us today. 

In addition to Franklyn-Miller, celebrity cameo appearances from Ben Kingsley, Kelsey Grammer and Andy Serkis are bright spots, providing much needed gravitas and charisma to this very personal adaption of the life and beginnings of the American Cincinnatus. 

Yet, Young Washington doesn’t always rise to the reputation of its main character. The script’s dialogue varies, sometimes feeling clunky and jading. 

Perhaps most disappointing about Young Washington is in its attempts to recreate famous American battles.

Some of the battles brought to life in the film feel dizzying and confused - and sometimes show an improbable, almost super-human, ability to defy bullets and cannon fire - and consequently lack the raw human intimacy and exposure of war.

Despite this, Young Washington is an excellent and important film.

It is a film successful in rekindling the intuition of the American spirit through the origin of the nation’s most important general and founder.

Those seeking a renewed engagement of the American spirit - and great American history - will not be disappointed.