‘The Patriot’: Fathering Over Soldiering

‘The Patriot’: Fathering Over Soldiering

The 2000 film “The Patriot” tells the story of a reluctant soldier, compelled to join America’s war of independence. Feared warrior Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), a South Carolina widower, would rather not fight the British colonial army. He’d rather care for his family of seven children and maintain his livelihood of farming. When a cruel British officer (Jason Isaacs) claims the life of his second son, Thomas (Gregory Smith), a remorsefully res…