J.D. Dillard’s 2016 breakout feature film “Sleight” was a low-budget gem that showcased what this up-and-coming filmmaker could do. Applying an indie sensibility to a gritty, magic-inspired superhero origin story, his focus on character over spectacle made “Sleight” moving, and memorable. In Dillard’s follow-up film (he’s spent a few years directing TV), the Korean War epic “Devotion,” the budget may have gotten bigger, and the sumptuous, soaring visuals more spectacular, but the emphasis on character remains the same.
That makes “Devotion” an emotional and fitting tribute to the real men behind the incredible true story: Lt. Tom Hudner and Ensign Jesse Brown. Their experiences in the Korean War are detailed in Adam Makos’ 2014 book, “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice,” adapted for the screen by Jake Crane and Jonathan A.H. Stewart. Glen Powell, who has cornered the market on playing wingmen this year with “Devotion” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” plays Tom Hudner; the remarkable actor Jonathan Majors plays Jesse Brown.
Working with Academy Award-winning cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, Dillard creates an aesthetic for “Devotion” that harkens back to classic war films: the pilots’ Brylcreemed coifs gleam against their leather bomber jackets; their shiny new Corsair planes sweep triumphantly through the clouds of coastal New England during their training flights. What they’re training for remains to be seen, as this crop of aviators missed out on “The Big Show” of World War II. Tom, a Naval Academy graduate, is antsy to prove himself. Jesse, the Navy’s first Black pilot, just wants to fly.
